Suing over Fire and Fury would be futile and damaging for Trump, legal experts warn
New York — Any lawsuits by President Donald Trump against former chief strategist Steve Bannon or the author and publisher of a book depicting a chaotic White House and Trump as out of his depth, would almost certainly fail and could lead to more damaging disclosures, legal experts say. Trump threatened legal action against Bannon over "libelous" remarks quoted by writer Michael Wolff in the book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, after excerpts were published by media outlets on Wednesday. Charles Harder, a lawyer for the president, told Reuters he would take "legal action" to block the book’s release. He sent cease-and-desist letters to Bannon, Wolff and publisher Henry Holt & Co. Alan Dershowitz, an emeritus law professor at Harvard Law School, said a libel lawsuit by Trump would be a "terrible mistake" and "a nonstarter" that "no reasonable lawyer would recommend". Dershowitz, who has often publicly defended the legality of the president’s actions over the past year, ...
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