Overview

• The Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected the Pulitzer Board’s bid to pause the case until Trump leaves office, ruling that only a president can invoke immunity privileges.
• Trump filed the defamation suit in December 2022 after the board defended its 2018 awards to The New York Times and The Washington Post for coverage of alleged Russian election interference.
• On Truth Social, Trump denounced the reporting as “fake” and “malicious,” demanding the newspapers relinquish their prizes.
• The Pulitzer Board maintains that the honored investigations were “deeply sourced” and “relentlessly reported” and says it is evaluating its next legal steps.
• Observers warn the outcome could reshape press freedom by testing the limits of presidential immunity in civil defamation claims.