The Associated Press asked the court to dismiss the action Deripaska’s defamation
The Associated Press asked the judge to reject the lawsuit of billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who accuses the Agency of libel because of articles about his collaboration with ally of President Donald trump Paul Manafort.
The American news Agency Associated Press filed a motion in Federal court in Washington to dismiss the libel suit that he filed against Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska (23rd position in the Russian rating Forbes; $5.3 billion).
In his speech, the journalists said that Deripaska disputes the story about his possible ties with ally US President Donald trump Paul Manafort on the basis of its “intense impact” and not the information transmitted in the material of the Associated Press.
Such a public figure, Deripaska must refer to the facts, not just the conclusions — which, if it is really proven most likely establish “malice” in the publication the Associated Press. He did not do.Lawyers For The Associated Press
In its lawsuit, the Agency claims that the publication, the essence of which challenges the Russian entrepreneur, “does not contain any libel against Deripaska”. Lawyers for the Agency claim that the allegations of the plaintiff do not support a claim for defamation, and also insist that the court considered the identity of Mr. Deripaska as a public person, a “limited public figure” that would require him to meet more stringent legal standards.
Deripaska in his initial lawsuit argues that the readers that read the article, “impressions”, that “private commercial transactions billionaire was and still can be associated with the campaign of trump.” But in legal documents of the Agency States that “the article clearly stated that relations with Deripaska Monforton ended long ago”.
We are talking about publishing journalists Jeff Horowitz and Chad the Activities in which they, citing sources described the collaboration of Oleg Deripaska with Paul Manafort, which in the past was an adviser to Donald trump. According to the Agency, the former head of the electoral headquarters of the trump for several years worked for the Russian billionaire to promote the interests of Vladimir Putin.
After that Deripaska’s representatives offered the Agency to refute some of the allegations from the article, in particular the “secret work” to promote the interests of the Russian President, but the Associated Press refused to do.
In mid-may, Deripaska was filed in the court of the district of Columbia a lawsuit against the Agency for defamation. The statement said that the journalists accused the businessman “of involvement in criminal acts and other offences”.
“The article creates the false impression that a commercial transaction that the entrepreneur has done from 2005 to 2009, had some relevance to the alleged crimes and violations related to the election campaign of Donald trump and the US presidential elections last year”, — said in a statement. The plaintiff also argues that the Agency staff knew that “such information is incorrect or at least questionable”.