President Trump on Wednesday threatened lawsuits against authors who use anonymous sources in books about him or his allies, calling them defamatory and dishonest.
Trump also teased that a new law could be created to protect against anonymous sourcing in books, while arguing the first month of his second term has been historically successful.
“As a President who is being given credit for having the Best Opening Month of any President in history, quite naturally, here come the Fake books and stories with the so-called ‘anonymous,’ or ‘off the record,’ quotes,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“At some point I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general, to find out whether or not these ‘anonymous sources’ even exist, which they largely do not,” he added.
Trump said consequences have to be paid for dishonesty, tying that with using anonymous sourcing.
“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!!!” he said.
Trump’s threat comes as he has slammed a new book by author Michael Wolff, calling it “a total FAKE JOB.” The book, “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America,” discusses Trump allies, including lawyer Boris Epshteyn and billionaire Elon Musk, according to a New York Times review published Friday.
During the first Trump administration, Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” portrayed the president as someone who didn’t believe he would win election and faced difficulties with some of the basics of governing.
The White House on Tuesday also broke with media tradition when it announced it would take over deciding which outlets are allowed into the press pool covering the president, seizing control from the White House Correspondents’ Association. As of Wednesday, the White House had added and removed some outlets from the daily in-town pool.
