First Amendment

An Iowa Judge Rejects Trump's Unconstitutional Attempt To Recover Damages for 'Fake News'

The dismissal of the president's lawsuit against The Des Moines Register is a victory for freedom of the press.

Jacob Sullum | 9.24.2026 2:15 PM

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On Wednesday, an Iowa judge dismissed a lawsuit in which President Donald Trump preposterously claimed that The Des Moines Register committed consumer fraud when it published poll results he did not like prior to the 2024 election. Those surprising results, which gave Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, a lead in Iowa, turned out to be far off the mark. But according to Trump, that forecast was not only embarrassing but also illegal.

Trump's lawsuit, which he first filed in December 2024, alleged that the poll violated the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, justifying damages to compensate him for "the extensive time and resources" required to "mitigate and counteract the harms" caused by the Register's reporting. That argument, if accepted, would expose journalists to the chilling threat of civil liability whenever someone claims they got a story wrong.

"At its core, the Plaintiffs' Petition seeks to stretch both Iowa statutory and common law beyond their current bounds, turning speech that enjoys the highest category of First Amendment protection into a liability," Polk County District Court Judge Scott J. Beattie writes in his ruling against Trump. "After considering the parties' arguments, the Court must conclude that the protection is too great and the reach is too far. The case........

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