Attorneys representing the Pulitzer Prize Board have filed a motion in Florida state court to pause a defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump. The case, initiated in 2022, accuses the board of damaging Trump’s reputation through statements defending Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times and The Washington Post for coverage of the debunked Russia collusion narrative.
The board’s attorneys argue that litigation during Trump’s presidency would interfere with his constitutional duties, citing legal arguments Trump’s lawyers made in separate cases. They referenced a lawsuit filed against Trump during his first term by a former contestant on The Apprentice. Trump’s team argued then that litigation without a stay would “disrupt and impair” his ability to perform his presidential responsibilities. Similar arguments were made by Trump’s legal team earlier this month in a Delaware case involving his social media company, where they requested a pause until his term ends.
The Pulitzer board’s filing states: “To avoid such constitutional conflicts, the Court should stay this case until Plaintiff’s term in office has concluded.”
Trump’s lawsuit stems from the Pulitzer Board’s decision to reject his 2022 request to revoke national reporting awards granted in 2018 to The New York Times and The Washington Post. These awards were given for their coverage of alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump and others requested independent reviews, which the board commissioned. The reviews concluded that “no passages or headlines, contentions or assertions in any of the winning submissions were discredited by facts that emerged subsequent to the conferral of the prizes.”
The lawsuit alleges the board acted with actual malice in issuing a statement defending the awards, claiming the board intended to harm Trump’s reputation.
The motion for a stay highlights ongoing legal and constitutional complexities when a sitting president is involved in litigation, adding a layer of delay to a contentious case already tied to one of the most politically charged narratives in recent history.
