President Trump has escalated his feud with a prominent liberal think tank, demanding the retraction of a critical report on his National Guard deployments by Friday evening or facing a $5 billion defamation lawsuit. The ultimatum was delivered in a nine-page letter sent Monday by Trump's personal attorney, Alejandro Brito, and reviewed by The Hill.
The letter accuses the Center for American Progress (CAP) of “manufacturing” claims that the deployments have not reduced violent crime. Brito wrote that the think tank “did not merely draw a different academic conclusion; they defamed President Trump by distorting a contested empirical question into a sensational, false, malicious and defamatory accusation that President Trump knowingly lied to the American people.”
The Hill has reached out to a CAP spokesperson for comment. As of midday Friday, the report remained available on CAP's website.
This is not the first time Trump has used his personal lawyers to pursue defamation claims against perceived adversaries. Often targeting media organizations with demands for astronomical sums, his lawsuits have sometimes led to significant settlements. This latest threat, however, targets a think tank led by Neera Tanden, a senior adviser to former President Biden, with several other former Democratic officials on its board.
The controversy began last month when CAP published a report asserting there was “no evidence” that Trump's National Guard deployments had failed to reduce violent crime. The group accused the administration of taking credit for a downward trend that was already in motion, suggesting the move was a pretext for expanding policing.
Trump reacted on his Truth Social platform earlier this month, calling the report “another Radical Left SCAM” and threatening legal action. The letter, first reported by The New York Times, formalizes that threat with a concrete deadline. Brito set a 5 p.m. EDT Friday deadline for CAP to retract the report, issue an apology, and compensate Trump, or face a lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion.
The letter warns that “failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that Defendants have caused him to suffer.”
This dispute comes amid broader tensions over Trump's defense and national security policies. His recent moves, such as erratic Navy directives during the Iran conflict, have drawn criticism from allies and experts. The CAP report is part of that ongoing scrutiny.
Legal experts note that defamation suits of this magnitude face high hurdles, especially when the subject is a matter of public concern. However, Trump's history of using legal threats to silence critics suggests this may be more about political pressure than legal victory.
CAP has not yet responded publicly, but the think tank is likely to resist the demand, setting the stage for a potential courtroom battle that could test the limits of presidential power and free speech.
