Story perspectives

Trump Lawyer Demands CAP Retraction or $5B Defamation Suit

8/22/2026

Center

Brito Threatens Lawsuit

U.S. President Donald Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito mailed the Center for American Progress demanding July 13 report retraction or a $5 billion defamation lawsuit.
A seven-page America First Policy Institute analysis claiming 24,000 illegal non-citizen votes in 2020 was called laughable by election experts.
CAP president Neera Tanden rejected the demand, calling the lawsuit an attempt to silence nonprofit.
CAP general counsel Kevin Metz said the defamation claim is absurd because truth is not defamation.

Left

Brito Threatens Lawsuit

President Donald Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito sent a letter to the Center for American Progress ordering a retraction or a $5 billion lawsuit.
The lawsuit is portrayed as intimidation of research, threatening First-Amendment freedoms and imposing costs on think tank and taxpayers.
CAP analysis found Guard deployments did not reduce homicides, violent crime or gun violence.
Senator Elizabeth Warren warned deployments would add $1.4 billion in taxpayer costs through Trump’s term.

Blindspot

The analysis estimated that continuing National Guard deployments through 2026 would cost taxpayers more than $1.7 billion, according to the Left-leaning sources.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

1 of 3

Brito Threatens Lawsuit

U.S. President Donald Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito mailed the Center for American Progress demanding July 13 report retraction or a $5 billion defamation lawsuit.
A seven-page America First Policy Institute analysis claiming 24,000 illegal non-citizen votes in 2020 was called laughable by election experts.
CAP president Neera Tanden rejected the demand, calling the lawsuit an attempt to silence nonprofit.
CAP general counsel Kevin Metz said the defamation claim is absurd because truth is not defamation.

1 / 3