Trump’s Defamation Suit Against Pulitzer Board Can Proceed (2)

Pulitzer Prize board members lost their bid to pause President Donald Trump‘s defamation case against them until after his term ends.

Trump can pursue his defamation and conspiracy claims, but the board members could seek another stay if the president fails to perform his obligations to the litigation, Judge Robert L. Pegg of the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, in Okeechobee County, Fla., said in a Monday order.

Trump in 2022 sued several current and former Pulitzer Prize board members, alleging they conspired against and defamed him by declining to rescind Pulitzer Prize awards for articles related to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its alleged ties to Trump. The board said in a 2022 statement the awarded articles didn’t contain any content “discredited by facts that emerged subsequent to the conferral of the prizes.”

The board members—most of whom aren’t Florida residents—lost their bid to dismiss the case on jurisdiction grounds. The Florida District Court of Appeals last month upheld the trial court’s ruling, since one of the members is a Florida resident and Trump sent a letter to the board from the Sunshine State with his demands. That’s enough to establish jurisdiction, the appeals court said.

The board members then moved to pause the case until Trump is out of the White House, arguing that proceeding with the litigation would “be constitutionally impermissible because it would be an attempt to exercise ‘direct control’” over Trump during his presidency. The lawsuit could also interfere with Trump’s responsibilities as president, the board members argued.

Trump argued the board members don’t have standing to request a stay, and that “he would be in a better position to determine” if the litigation would “be a diversion of his energies or interfere with” his duties in office.

Pegg declined to stay the case, ruling that if the litigation interferes with Trump’s duties as president, he or the board members can seek the appropriate relief or sanctions.

“Allowing any president to pursue civil claims against private citizens in state court while simultaneously claiming that private citizens cannot pursue civil claims against him in the same exact court is extremely troubling and should raise concerns for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the board in a statement to Bloomberg Law, adding that the board is evaluating its next steps and “remains committed to continuing our defense of journalism.”

Quincy Bird, counsel for Trump, said in a statement to Bloomberg Law that the ruling is a victory for the president “in his pursuit of justice against the Pulitzer Prize board members for their dishonest and defamatory conduct.” Trump is “committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, lies and smears to account,” Bird added.

Ballard Spahr LLP represents the board members. Weber, Crabb & Wein PA represents Trump.

The case is Trump v. Members of the Pulitzer Prize Bd., Fla. Cir. Ct., No. 2022-CA-000246, 3/10/25.