Iowa Court Dismisses Trump Suit Over 3-Point Harris Poll With Prejudice
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 24
Iowa Court Dismisses Trump Suit Over 3-Point Harris Poll With Prejudice
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 24
Summary
Judge Scott J. Beattie threw out Donald Trump’s lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register, barring him from refiling the same claim.
Beattie said the poll and the newspaper’s reporting were protected political speech under the First Amendment, writing that election polling is itself speech and part of a conversation between pollster and voter.
Trump had sued over a Register poll published three days before the 2024 election that showed Kamala Harris ahead by 3 points in Iowa, alleging fraud and a bid to grab headlines.
That poll missed the result badly—Trump won Iowa by about 13 points—and free-speech advocates backing Selzer said the ruling rejects using “fake news” claims to punish protected reporting.