Trump Threatens To Sue Authors, Media Outlets That Use Anonymous Sources; What’s The Trigger?

Washington: After the tariff tirade against multiple countries and the all-out drive against illegal immigrants, Donald Trump has found his next target.

Furious over a new tell-all book about him, the US President on Wednesday threatened to sue authors and media outlets that use anonymous sources in their writings, reported AFP.

Trump is known to be a hater of mainstream American media, which he labels the ‘fake news’ media.

Now, he is set to take aim at authors after the publication of a new expose by journalist Michael Wolff which has left Trump and his team livid.

The book asserts, among other things, that after surviving an assassination attempt during the Presidential election campaign last year, Trump “seemed possibly on the verge of cracking,” as he was unable to finish sentences and flying into rages.

Having completed what he called a ‘wildly successful’ first month in his second term at the White House, Trump said “fake books and stories” with anonymous sources are coming out and “at some point I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers” to determine if these sources exist, “which they largely do not.”

Trump added in his social media post: “They are made up, defamatory fiction, and a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty. I’ll do it as a service to our Country. Who knows, maybe we will create some NICE NEW LAW!!!”

Wolff’s new book – following his 2018 bestseller titled ‘Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House’ — quotes a Mar-a-Lago source as saying Trump’s wife Melania hates him.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration broke decades-old tradition by announcing that the White House will pick which media get close access to the President in confined quarters like the Oval Office as part of what is known as a press pool.

Until now, an independent association of American media organisations covering the White House made this selection.