In 1735, newspaper publisher Peter Zenger successfully defended himself from a libel charge by the colonial governor William Cosby, on the basis that publications cannot be libelous if they are true. The legal history is more complicated after that point, but the principle remains valid today: in the United States, public figures cannot sue for libel on the basis of a publication which is factually correct. Hopefully the originalists in our judiciary will keep this in mind.
Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made a Great Point
In 1735, newspaper publisher Peter Zenger successfully defended himself from a libel charge by the colonial governor William Cosby, on the basis that publications cannot be libelous if they are true. The legal history is more complicated after that point, but the principle remains valid today: in the United States, public figures cannot sue for libel on the basis of a publication which is factually correct. Hopefully the originalists in our judiciary will keep this in mind.