FOX 1: President-elect Donald Trump calls Vice President Kamala Harris’ lead in Iowa showing “brazen election interference” in the eventual 2024 presidential election. He is suing the Des Moines Register and its top pollster, J. Ann Selzer, for fraud. He won the state by more than 13 percentage points, according to Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit was filed Monday night in Polk County, Iowa, under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act and related provisions. The group claims that “Des Moines Register (DMR) and Selzer” conducted a leaked and manipulated Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll to support now-defeated former Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. “We are pursuing accountability for the brazen election interference.” Published by Selzer and S&C and posted in the Des Moines Register on November 2, 2024 by DMR and Gannett. ” The lawsuit is also filed against Gannett, the parent company of the Des Moines Register, which also owns other publications, including USA Today.
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“Contrary to reality and disregarding credibility, Defendants claim that the Harris Poll was released three days before Election Day and showed Harris leading President Trump by 3 points in Iowa, and that the final “President Trump won Iowa by more than 13 points,” the complaint states.
On November 2, just three days before the election, Mr. Selzer released the final poll for Iowa, sponsored by the Des Moines Register, showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading Mr. Trump by 3 points. The shocking poll showed a seven-point change from Trump to Harris since September, when the same poll showed Trump with a four-point lead over the vice president.
Pollster J. Ann Selzer announced that she is ending her election polling career following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. (Screenshot from Bulwark podcast via Getty Images/YouTube)
But in the end, Trump won Iowa by more than 13 points.
However, Selzer’s polling had been hyped by the media before the election because her poll predictions in previous elections had been historically accurate.
President Trump’s lawyers said that Selzer’s prediction was “not a reality of Harris’ 3-point lead in deep red Iowa, but a fiction designed to interfere with the election.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers said Mr. Selzer “pride[s]his mainstream reputation for accuracy, even though there were egregious omissions in Democratic favor that have not been widely publicized.” “I want the public to believe that one of the missed votes was just a coincidence.” Carrier was leaked just days before the most consequential election in living memory, coincidentally pitting him against a Republican candidate. ”
Shocking poll shows Harris leading President Trump in Iowa, shifting 3 points towards vice president in red state
“The Harris Poll was not a ‘miss’, but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election,” the suit states. “They wanted to create a false narrative,” he added. It is inevitable that Harris will win the election in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election. ”
“Rather, the November 5th election was a monumental victory for President Trump in both the Electoral College and the popular vote, an overwhelming commitment to his America First mission, and a radical socialist agenda.” has been consigned to the dustbin of history.”
The suit says Selzer, who worked in the industry for more than 35 years, “retired from polling in shame less than two weeks after this embarrassing defeat.”
“Left-leaning pollsters are attempting to influence the outcome of the election through manipulated polls that have unacceptable margins of error and are not based on widely accepted polling methodology,” Trump’s lawyers said. he claimed.
Former pollster Ann Selzer hits back at criticism of Iowa poll: ‘They’re accusing me of a crime’
“While Ms. Selzer was not the only poll worker involved in this corrupt practice, she had an enormous platform and following and therefore had a significant and influential opportunity to mislead voters,” the complaint states. listed. “As Mr. Selzer knows, this type of manipulation creates a narrative of inevitability for Democratic candidates, increases enthusiasm among Democrats, and forces Republicans to direct campaign time and money to areas where they have an advantage.” “They trick the public into believing that Democratic candidates are performing better than they actually are.” ”
The lawsuit alleges that Democrats believe “as a candidate Harris has a number of critical weaknesses, and given her failure to appeal to key segments of the traditional Democratic base, there is a need for fraudulent voting in the 2024 election.” “This has become even more serious than usual.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Monday, December 16, 2024 (AP/Evan Vucci)
Trump’s lawyers are suing under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, which states that the defendants “have caused serious and unavoidable harm to consumers and competitors because the release and dissemination of the Harris Poll caused serious and unavoidable harm to consumers and competitors.” The court claims that it was unable to exceed the judgment of the court and that it engaged in “unfair acts or practices.” The benefits this practice has brought. ”
It also said that consumers have been “grossly deceived and misled about the actual positions of each candidate in the Iowa presidential election.”
“Furthermore, President Trump, the Trump 2024 campaign, and other Republicans were forced to divert vast amounts of campaign funds and resources to Iowa based on the deceptive Harris Poll,” the complaint states. Added the Des Moines Register consumer and campaign contributor: Iowans. Trump’s 2024 campaign was “similarly deceived.”
Trump is seeking actual damages in court. Statutory damages equal to three times the actual damages sustained. Orders defendants to “ongoing deceptive and misleading acts and practices in connection with the Harris Poll” and orders defendants to rely on “ongoing deceptive and misleading acts and practices in connection with the Harris Poll.” an order compelling the disclosure of all information provided thereto, and any related attorney’s fees and expenses action and any other relief the court deems just and appropriate.
The lawsuit was filed Monday night, just hours after the president-elect told the Des Moines Register and Seltzer at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago that he planned to sue Seltzer.
The lawsuit comes days after ABC News and its top anchor George Stephanopoulos reached a defamation lawsuit with Trump, resulting in the network paying the president-elect $15 million.
The proposed settlement was made public on Saturday, revealing an agreement to avoid a costly trial. According to the proposed settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million in charitable contributions to “presidential foundations and museums established by or for plaintiffs as established by past presidents of the United States.”
In addition, the network will pay Trump’s legal fees of $1 million.
Stephanopoulos and ABC News also issued a statement of “regret” in an editor’s note at the end of the March 10, 2024, online article about comments made earlier this year that prompted the defamation lawsuit against Trump. had to be announced. The memo states, “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos would like to share with you Donald J. Trump’s interview with Congresswoman Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024. “I regret the comments I made regarding the president.”
George Stephanopoulos speaks on ABC’s “This Week.” (ABC/Paula Lobo via Getty Images)
ABC News said the department was “satisfied” with the conclusion of the case.
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit based on the terms of the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson told FOX News Digital.
The settlement between the Des Moines Register lawsuit and ABC News comes after a series of legal victories for President Trump and his defense team, orchestrated by senior legal adviser Boris Epshteyn.
Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan recently granted Special Counsel Jack Smith’s recent request to dismiss the case against Trump related to the 2020 election. Smith also dismissed his appeal in the confidential records case on Monday, after a federal judge in July ruled that his appointment as special counsel was unlawful and dismissed the charges altogether.
In New York v. Trump, Judge Juan Marchan granted Trump’s request to file a motion to dismiss charges stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case and removed the president-elect’s sentencing date from the calendar.
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Marchan on Monday night rejected Trump’s July request to overturn the guilty verdict based on presidential immunity. Marchand has not yet ruled on Trump’s formal motion to dismiss the charges outright.
President Trump also sued CBS News for $10 billion in damages, alleging that CBS News engaged in “deceptive conduct” aimed at interfering with the election in an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in October. are.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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