Trump Threatens $5 Billion Defamation Suit Over CAP National Guard Report

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Alejandro Brito, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Center for American Progress (CAP) demanding a full retraction, an apology, and unspecified financial compensation by 5 p.m. Friday, or face a $5 billion defamation lawsuit filed in Trump’s personal capacity. CAP declined to comply.

NOTUS

In 2025 the Trump administration deployed National Guard units to Washington, DC, Memphis, Tenn., and Los Angeles as part of a crime-reduction initiative. CAP’s July 13 analysis examined homicide, violent-crime and gun-victimization data from January 2023 through February 2026 in those cities. The report concluded that violent-crime rates were already declining before the deployments and that the Guard’s presence had no measurable effect. The analysis estimated the deployments would cost taxpayers roughly $1.7 billion if continued through the end of 2026; Senator Elizabeth Warren later projected an additional $1.4 billion in costs through the end of Trump’s term.

Philadelphia Inquirer

• Cities examined: Washington, DC; Memphis, Tenn.; Los Angeles, Cal.

Philadelphia Inquirer

• Time frame of data: January 2023 – February 2026.

CNN

• Estimated deployment cost: $1.7 billion (potentially $1.4 billion more per Senator Warren).

Common Dreams

• Crime trend finding: Violent-crime declines in the three Guard-deployment cities were statistically indistinguishable from declines in comparable cities without Guard presence; the downward trend began well before Trump took office in 2025.

Philadelphia Inquirer

CAP’s general counsel Kevin Metz called the defamation claim “utterly absurd” and reiterated that truth cannot be defamatory. The White House declined to comment directly, responding only with a request for the letter itself.

Philadelphia Inquirer

The dispute hinges on divergent interpretations of the same crime data. CAP’s analysis, supported by multiple statistical tests, finds no measurable effect of the Guard deployments. Trump’s legal team contends that the report contains “defamatory” misrepresentations and that the President’s credit for crime reductions is being unjustly challenged. No independent third-party audit of the CAP methodology has been presented, leaving the factual basis of each side’s claim unverified.

The Guardian

• “Based on analysis of crime data, our report demonstrated facts about the National Guard deployments that are inconvenient to the Trump administration,” — Neera Tanden, president and CEO

The Guardian

• “In an effort to falsely claim his policies have reduced crime, the president is exploiting the fact that violent crime and murder were already declining in the cities his administration targeted with these extreme interventions.” — Alejandro Brito, trump attorney

Associated Press

• “Efforts to intimidate and silence non-governmental institutions and citizens that find government policies failing is anathema to a democracy,” — Kevin Metz

NOTUS

• “Independent organizations across the ideological spectrum must be free to express their analysis and opinions, and to challenge those in power without fear of political retaliation or legal intimidation,” — Peter Goettler, president and CEO of the libertarian Cato Institute

Philadelphia Inquirer

• “In America, profound disagreements over public policy are resolved through robust public debate, not through threats or intimidation,” — Neera Tanden, president and CEO

The Independent