The Republican National Committee (RNC) and ex-Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit against liberal news website The Daily Beast. The RNC and LaCivita believe they were defamed by an October 2024 report that stated LaCivita was paid $22 million by the Trump campaign. They claim the sum was actually less, and it was used for campaign advertising, not pocketed by LaCivita.
The RNC and LaCivita have sent three letters to The Daily Beast, demanding retractions of the article over the past few months. The letters claim that the article and subsequent reporting by The Daily Beast “center around the false and defamatory claim” that the RNC authorized and LaCivita received compensation in the amount of $22 million.
The Daily Beast has stood by its reporting, adding an editor’s note to the initial story admitting that the article “mistakenly reported that LaCivita’s firm had received a total of $22 million” when the total was actually $19.2 million. The article has also been updated to clarify that payments were made to LaCivita’s LLC, not to LaCivita personally.
Despite the corrections, the RNC and LaCivita believe that The Daily Beast’s reporting is still defamatory and has demanded a retraction. The Daily Beast has deleted a segment of a podcast episode that discussed the report and has insisted that it stands by its reporting.
Attorneys for the RNC and LaCivita have demanded that The Daily Beast preserve all documents and communications related to the story ahead of “anticipated litigation.” The Daily Beast has declined further comment.
