The brother of retired Gen. Michael Flynn is suing CNN for defamation, seeking $75 million for negligently propagating false claims about ties to QAnon.
“Plaintiffs are not followers or supporters of any extremist or terrorist groups, including QAnon,” the lawsuit filed by John (Jack) Flynn and his wife Leslie reads, The Hill reported. “CNN falsely attributed to Plaintiffs associations that never existed, actions Plaintiffs never took, including an oath of allegiance to QAnon, and views Plaintiffs never held.
“CNN’s false attributions exposed Plaintiffs to public scorn, ridicule and contempt, and lowered their esteem in the community, causing insult, embarrassment, humiliation and substantial injury to Plaintiffs’ reputations.”
The lawsuit, filed in THE U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, requests a jury trial.
It cites a Feb. 4 CNN report for false accusations of the John and Leslie Flynn being followers and supporters of QAnon, a mysterious, online peddler of far-right conspiracy theories.
They claim CNN used an edited video which is “fraudulently making it appear and insinuating that [Jack and Leslie] pledged an oath of allegiance to QAnon,” according to The Hill.
Also, the lawsuit alleges, “the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, a chorus of left-wing media outlets began to spread false narratives about QAnon, including that Jack Flynn’s brother, retired Lt. General Michael T. Flynn (‘Gen. Flynn’), was the ‘founder’ of QAnon.”
Gen. Michael Flynn had pleaded guilty in December 2017 for making false statements to the FBI about contacts with Russian diplomats during the Trump transition in December 2016, but he pulled that plea under discovery of potential FBI misconduct, the Justice Department ultimately dropped the charges against him, and former President Donald Trump preemptively pardoned him anyway.
Now, the Biden administration’s Department of Defense is investigating Flynn again for his international dealings, an Army spokesperson told The Hill.
Source: Newmax
