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**Hugh** · 04-01-2018, 23:19

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/am...mpression=true

Quote:

(Reuters) - Any lawsuits by President Donald Trump against former chief strategist Steve Bannon or the author and publisher of a book depicting a chaotic White House and Trump as out of his depth would almost certainly fail and could lead to more damaging disclosures, legal experts said...

...Alan Dershowitz, an emeritus law professor at Harvard Law School, said a libel lawsuit by Trump would be a "terrible mistake" and "a nonstarter" that "no reasonable lawyer would recommend."

Dershowitz, who has often publicly defended the legality of the president's actions over the past year, said it is very difficult for public figures to prevail in libel suits. Trump would need to show Wolff and publisher Holt knew statements by Bannon and others were false or they acted with reckless disregard for whether or not they were true...

...In one letter to Bannon and another to both Wolff and Steve Rubin, President & Publisher, Henry Holt and Company, Harder also said Bannon violated non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions of his employment agreement with the Trump 2016 election campaign by speaking with Wolff. He said Wolff and Holt could face claims of interfering with or inducing breach of that contract.

But legal experts said the employment agreement would not have applied to Bannon after he joined the White House staff. Because of transparency and free speech concerns, the government has far less power to limit non-classified speech by employees than private companies, said Bradley Moss, a Washington lawyer specializing in national security law.

Apart from facing long odds, a Trump libel lawsuit would also force the president to participate in an intrusive disclosure process.

Dershowitz said that defense lawyers would be able to subject Trump to "broad and far-ranging" depositions about "almost anything" and compel him to answer.

Moss said defense lawyers would also be entitled to interview White House officials and collect potentially damaging documents from them. "It would be one more distraction, one more thing people in the administration need to hire lawyers for."