When it comes to defamation lawsuits, members of the Trump administration are always at the ready. It was announced earlier this week their latest defamation victim is Jason Miller, the former pro-Trump CNN contributor and White House aide, who revealed he’s suing the Gizmodo Media Group for over $100 million after a report claimed he illegally slipped an abortion pill into the smoothie of a pregnant stripper.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, there are court documents showing the suit was filed on Monday through the exact same attorneys responsible for the landmark Gawker case where WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan sued a tabloid publication for their release of his private sex tape. That legal battle resulted in Hogan receiving a successful $141 million verdict, essentially destroying Gawker as the company was forced to crumble into irrelevancy while the remains were sold off to executives at Gizmodo.
Now, through his representation with Gawker-slayers Ken Turkel and Shane Vogt, it seems Miller wants a repeat of the case due to the ‘actual malice, defamatory, emotionally distressing, invasion of privacy and conspiracy’ being made against him.
“This case is a terrifying example of how people can use false accusations of violence against women to destroy someone’s life,” the suit reads. “Because of Miller’s politics and association with the current Presidential Administration, [Gizmodo] knew they could benefit financially and editorially by attacking him. Within twenty-four hours and without a scintilla of proof, the plot succeeded.”
“The false accusations ended Miller’s relationship with CNN and put his entire career in serious jeopardy,” they continue, claiming the allegation was in a filing that had been sealed by the court, though no verification has been given.
“Millions of people read about how Miller tried to kill a woman, killed her unborn child, and beat another woman — none of which actually happened. And as planned, everyone rushed to judgment. Miller’s life as he knew it was over.”
The story was originally published by Katherine Krueger, a reporter for the Gizmodo subsidiary website Splinter News, who cited court filings as the basis of the illegal abortion allegations. These weren’t some unfounded assertions of a random fake news journalist, but merely a presentation of the legal case being made against Miller by A.J. Delgado, the ex-lover with whom he supposedly had an extramarital affair during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“There is no validity to the false accusations made in the document,” Miller threatened the website publicly. “I will clear my name in this matter and seek to hold Ms. Delgado, Splinter and anyone else involved in spreading these lies legally accountable.”
And what exactly are these claims? Well, prior to their relationship, Miller seems to have fucked around with an anonymous Orlando stripper who claims to have been drugged for the intended purpose of causing an unintended abortion of her child. While reviewed Twitter DMs and sources speaking with the publication seem to suggest Miller directly referenced the strip club where the stripper worked, it’s fair to say more investigation is needed to determine whether the allegations are true.
“Unbeknownst to Jane Doe, the Smoothie contained an abortion bill,” the cited filings read. “The pill induced an abortion, and Jane Doe wound up in a hospital emergency room, bleeding heavily and nearly went into a coma. The unborn child died. Jane Doe herself was hospitalized for two days, the abortion pill possibly reacting with potential street drugs in her system at the time she drank the Smoothie.”
“Upon leaving the hospital,” the filings continue, “a rightly enraged Jane Doe contacted the staffers of local politicians with whom Mr. Miller had been in attendance at Rachel’s the night they met. Mr. Miller then, in a panic, attempted to have Jane Doe sign a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”), presumably in exchange for a large sum of money.”
With the introduction of these claims into a bitter custody battle, Delgado, also a former Trump advisor, now wants the court to order Miller to undergo a psychological evaluation before being allowed his “unsupervised time” with their child. “Miller and his family were shunned,” Miller’s complaint declares. “Previously frequent playdates for his children suddenly stopped. At youth sporting events, people refused to acknowledge Miller and sat feet away from him. No one wants to be associated with the monster Miller was (falsely) accused of being.”
While Gawker was an example of unethical journalists lining their pockets with cheap clickbait and little public interest, Miller’s case is an example of a standard journalist giving a neutral take on the issue, which still resulted in a clampdown from public figures with an apparent history of dirty deeds.
Gizmodo, now facing a potentially company destroying lawsuit, issued a public statement showing they aren’t buying the narrative: “We have not yet been served with the complaint, and will respond more fully when we have had a chance to review it. GMG stands by its reporting and its reporter.”
