charles harder gawkr esq

=<div>see legal and press suppr
<div>
</div><div>popped 9/20</div><div>=</div><div>
</div><div>forbes 2018</div><div>
</div><div>when excerpts of author Michael Wolff’s new behind-the-scenes book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” were first published Wednesday, it was not surprising that Donald Trump did not like the portrait Wolff had painted of a dysfunctional start to his presidency. Trump quickly condemned the book, blasting his former chief strategist Steve Bannon in the process, saying he had “helped write phony books” by granting Wolff extensive White House access.But more than a few eyebrows were raised in Washington when, late Wednesday and again on Thursday, a new lawyer had emerged by Trump’s side to fight publication of the book, which was officially released today. That lawyer, Charles Harder, is largely unknown in the D.C. political world, having built a career representing Hollywood celebrities. On Thursday, Harder made a last-ditch attempt to halt the publication of Wolff’s book, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4343960-Harder-demand-letter-to-Wolff-Henry-Holt-Co-1-4.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4343960-Harder-demand-letter-to-Wolff-Henry-Holt-Co-1-4.html" aria-label="sending a letter" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">sending a letter</a> to publisher Henry Holt and Co. demanding that it immediately “cease and desist” publication of the book, as well as issue a “full and complete retraction and apology” to Trump. Holt and Co. responded by bumping up publication of the book, originally scheduled to go on sale next week, to today. (Harder <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4343961-Harder-demand-letter-to-Bannon-1-3-2018.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4343961-Harder-demand-letter-to-Bannon-1-3-2018.html" aria-label="sent a similar letter" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">sent a similar letter</a> to Steve Bannon.) Harder doesn’t run in the same New York social circles that Trump does. His boutique practice on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills was built in large part on a relationship with billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, around a series of lawsuits and legal threats that Harder made with Thiel’s backing against the now-defunct Gawker Media. The approach -- culminating in Harder’s decisive 2016 win in an invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan -- catapulted Harder to the national stage when Forbes revealed that Thiel had <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/05/24/this-silicon-valley-billionaire-has-been-secretly-funding-hulk-hogans-lawsuits-against-gawker/#6787e2cb8d14" target="self" data-ga-track="InternalLink:https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/05/24/this-silicon-valley-billionaire-has-been-secretly-funding-hulk-hogans-lawsuits-against-gawker/#6787e2cb8d14" aria-label="secretly bankrolled the litigation." style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">secretly bankrolled the litigation.</a>i met Harder while reporting that story in the spring of 2016, and have remained in touch with him. Since then, Harder has seemingly landed bigger and bigger clients, including Roger Ailes, Harvey Weinstein and Melania Trump. The announcements of these clients usually take the form of “cease and desist” or “demand” letters, much like the ones Harder authored this week.As his list of marquee clients grew, Harder opened up a second office in New York. Along the way, he's been featured in profiles by major media publications, including Newsweek, GQ and the Financial Times, burnishing his newfound reputation as a go-to attorney for rich and famous looking to silence critical media coverage.Harder declined to answer questions for this story, including when he first started working for Trump and who is paying for his services. A closer look at his background helps explain why Donald Trump turned to him to douse the fire sparked by Wolff’s book. Here’s five things to know about Trump’s new media attack dog.Harder isn’t a seasoned defamation and libel attorney.Most of Harder’s career has been spent handling more mundane matters on behalf of celebrities such as Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon and Clint Eastwood. The issues generally involved unsanctioned use of their names and disputes over branding. These disputes, often referred to as ‘right of publicity’ cases, typically involved sending a cease and desist letter that threatened litigation and demanded immediate removal of the offending content. Many of these disputes never make it to court, as parties deem the prospects of a drawn-out legal battle not worth the cost. Indeed, many First Amendment experts consider Harder’s body of work more akin to a crisis public relations firm than an influential trial attorney. Nonetheless, Harder’s blustery approach caught the eye of some of the media’s most powerful figures last year, which no doubt played a role in landing the president of the United States as a client this week.Harder didn’t actually do most of the work in his biggest trial.That was the invasion of privacy lawsuit he first brought in 2012 against Gawker Media. The lawsuit, the first Harder filed with the letterhead of his current firm, Harder Mirell & Abrams, was brought on behalf of Hulk Hogan, who was seen having sex with his friend’s wife in an excerpt of a video that Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio published online. But while Harder’s relationship with Peter Thiel, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html" aria-label="later said" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">later said</a> he spent “about $10 million” of his money on the case, captured headlines and renewed a debate over so-called “third party litigation” financing, it was his counterparts who did most of the heavy legal lifting in the trial. Attorneys Shane Vogt and Kenneth Turkel, of the Florida firm Bajo Cuva Cohen & Turkel, directed much of the case, filing motions, taking key depositions -- a partner at Harder's own firm, Doug Mirell, took a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/business/media/gawker-editors-testimony-stuns-courtroom-in-hulk-hogan-trial.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/business/media/gawker-editors-testimony-stuns-courtroom-in-hulk-hogan-trial.html" aria-label="particularly damaging deposition" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">particularly damaging deposition</a> of Daulerio -- and delivered oral arguments to the jury that ultimately ruled in favor of Hogan. Harder, meanwhile, spent time shuttling between the courthouse and his office in California, working with Hogan’s longtime personal attorney, David Houston, to craft media responses.UPDATE: Following the publication of this article, an attorney at Harder’s firm contacted Forbes to dispute the characterization of his involvement in the Gawker case. Harder, he said, was lead counsel in the case “in all senses of the term. He was hands-on.”What Harder may lack in courtroom experience, he appears to have more than made up for by working for Trump’s family.Donald Trump has demonstrated that he values loyalty above all else, and Harder appears to have earned it thanks to his work for those closest to Trump. Last spring, Harder <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/business/media/melania-trump-daily-mail-libel.html?r=0" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/business/media/melania-trump-daily-mail-libel.html?r=0" aria-label="secured a pair of settlements" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">secured a pair of settlements</a> on behalf of Melania Trump after suing a Maryland blogger and the Daily Mail tabloid over articles alleging she had previously worked as a paid escort. (Harder also <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/this-is-probably-the-twitter-account-of-melania-trumps?utm_term=.jujoenvaw#.dpPEeYvG3" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/this-is-probably-the-twitter-account-of-melania-trumps?utm_term=.jujoenvaw#.dpPEeYvG3" aria-label="reportedly worked" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">reportedly worked</a> with Melania Trump on a nascent campaign to combat cyberbullying. In tweets that have since been deleted, Harder indicated he would be devoting more time to the issue. “To the cyberbullies on Twitter and all other social platforms: The future First Lady and I are working to put an end to your hate speech,” Harder tweeted in December, 2016. Harder has remained silent about these efforts since, though Melania Trump recently gave a speech on the subject.) [twt]harder also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/business/media/roger-ailes-hints-at-suit-against-new-york-magazine.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/business/media/roger-ailes-hints-at-suit-against-new-york-magazine.html" aria-label="sent a demand letter" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">sent a demand letter</a> to New York magazine following a negative article about former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, a close friend of Donald Trump’s. More recently, Harder joined the team of lawyers representing Trump’s son-in-law turned senior advisor Jared Kushner, to handle the fall-out from special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation of the Trump administration and Russian election meddling.Harder and Trump share a similar approach to litigation: first try matters in the court of public opinion.It’s more than a little ironic that many of the various cease and desist letters Harder has sent to media outlets and journalists over the past two years were leaked to the press. The threats, designed as much to intimidate the recipient as to preserve documents for litigation, are more effective when made public. Among the letters that generated significant attention was one Harder sent to People magazine on behalf of Melania Trump, which the First Lady <a href="https://twitter.com/MELANIATRUMP/status/786707074096963585" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://twitter.com/MELANIATRUMP/status/786707074096963585" aria-label="promptly tweeted a screenshot of" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">promptly tweeted a screenshot of</a> as she accused the magazine of fabricating an interaction she had with a reporter.The last time Harder sent a demand letter like the ones he sent this week regarding Michael Wolff’s book was on behalf of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Harder vowed to sue the New York Times after <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html" aria-label="an article" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">an article</a> revealed a pattern of alleged sexual harassment and abuse Weinstein committed against women. Harder no longer represents Weinstein and, as of today, no such lawsuit has been filed.Harder, like Trump, seems to enjoy media attention -- and blasting the press later.I experienced this first-hand when reporting a story about Harder and Thiel’s joint effort to destroy Gawker. Harder had ignored my repeated phone calls and emails, so I decided to visit him in person. Movie posters lined the hallway outside the nondescript office, a nod to his Hollywood-based clientele. When I asked a secretary at the front desk to speak with Harder, his partner Jeffrey Abrams came to the lobby and quickly showed me the door, assuring me that Harder had received my messages but was not interested in speaking with me. Within minutes after leaving the office, I received an email from Harder, inviting me back for an interview.When I returned the following weekend, Harder greeted me with an array of beverages and the congeniality of someone who loves to host. We spoke at length about the Hogan trial and Gawker more generally. Initially, Harder insisted that our entire conversation be off the record. He later agreed to allow parts of what we discussed to be used in a story. Harder seemed eager to speak about his role in the Hogan case, but was less forthcoming when it came to his relationship with Thiel and the handful of other legal actions he had pursued against Gawker behind the scenes. Throughout the interview, he repeatedly mentioned how it was he, not Thiel, who had brought Gawker to its knees. Indeed, as someone familiar with Harder's firm explained, by that point he had made going after Gawker its <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2016/05/30/peter-thiel-hulk-hogan-lawyers-charles-harder/#500c6331167c" target="self" data-ga-track="InternalLink:https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/2016/05/30/peter-thiel-hulk-hogan-lawyers-charles-harder/#500c6331167c" aria-label="“bread and butter.”" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">“bread and butter.”</a> (Harder disputed this characterization.)The <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/06/07/behind-peter-thiel-plan-to-destroy-gawker/#7f743eac30f4" target="self" data-ga-track="InternalLink:https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/06/07/behind-peter-thiel-plan-to-destroy-gawker/#7f743eac30f4" aria-label="story was published" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">story was published</a> just three days before Gawker filed for bankruptcy, which ultimately proved to be the beginning of the end of founder Nick Denton’s media empire. I didn’t hear much from Harder in the weeks that followed. So it came as a surprise when he expressed dismay about the story in a <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/charles-harder-gawker-lawyer" target="blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.gq.com/story/charles-harder-gawker-lawyer" aria-label="profile of him in GQ magazine" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">profile of him in GQ magazine</a> that fall. In true Trumpian fashion, Harder took issue with a line in the article that referred to his “southern California tan and bleach-white” smile. “He made it sound like I'm a big fake,” Harder lamented of the characterization, saying that he neither whitened his teeth nor made an effort to bronze his skin. “Where does he get off?! I mean, it just bugs me!”</div><div><div>=</div><div>
</div><div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/the-trump-campaigns-legal-strategy-includes-suing-a-tiny-tv-station-in-northern-wisconsin/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/the-trump-campaigns-legal-strategy-includes-suing-a-tiny-tv-station-in-northern-wisconsin/</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="header-list-style" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="entry-title grid-title" open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" letter-spacing="letter-spacing" px="px" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/the-trump-campaigns-legal-strategy-includes-suing-a-tiny-tv-station-in-northern-wisconsin/" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer; letter-spacing: 0px;">Trump campaign’s legal strategy includes suing a tiny TV station in northern Wisconsin</a></h2><div class="grid-post-box-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 12px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/megcramer/" title="Posts by Meg Cramer" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Meg Cramer</a>, <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/katherine-sullivan/" title="Posts by Katherine Sullivan" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Katherine Sullivan</a> / <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/wnyc-2/" title="Posts by WNYC" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">WNYC</a>, <a href="https://www.alternet.org/author/pro-publica/" title="Posts by Pro Publica" class="author url fn" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Pro Publica</a> July 23, 2020</div></div><div class="item-content entry-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 18px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. This year, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign…
This year, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign filed defamation lawsuits against three of the country’s most prominent news outlets: The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN. Then it filed another suit against a somewhat lower-profile news organization: northern Wisconsin’s WJFW-TV, which serves the 134th-largest market in the country.The Trump campaign sued the station over what it claims is a false and defamatory ad WJFW aired that showed Trump downplaying the threat of the coronavirus as a line tracking new COVID-19 infections ticks up and up on the screen.Dozens of stations ran the ad. But the Trump campaign chose to sue just NBC-affiliate WJFW, which is owned by a relatively small company that only has two other local TV stations, both in Bangor, Maine. The campaign did not initially sue the political organization that produced the ad. That group later joined the case as a defendant.The curious lawsuit is part of a larger, aggressive and exceedingly expensive legal operation by the Trump campaign that’s the focus of <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trumpinc/episodes/trump-suing-small-tv-station" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">our latest “Trump, Inc.” podcast</a>.The campaign has spent over $16 million on litigation and other legal costs — <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/trump-campaign-spending-legal-fees/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">more</a> than any past presidential campaign and more than 10 times what presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has spent on legal services, according to disclosures.Trump has long boasted about his penchant for filing lawsuits. The president and his businesses have reportedly filed over <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">2,000 lawsuits</a>. After losing a 2006 defamation lawsuit against the journalist Tim O’Brien, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/that-time-trump-sued-over-the-size-of-hiswallet/2016/03/08/785dee3e-e4c2-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Trump told</a> the Post that he knew he couldn’t win, but he sued anyway. “I spent a couple of bucks on legal fees, and they spent a whole lot more,” Trump said. “I did it to make his life miserable, which I’m happy about.”As with other areas, Trump has taken his approach to running his personal life and business to the presidency.Multiple media law experts told us that the suit against tiny WJFW has little chance of succeeding. Susan Seager, a media defense lawyer and adjunct professor at The University of California, Irvine, School of Law, said, “The courts are very deferential and very protective of opinions about public figures and political issues.”So if Trump isn’t likely to win, what might he be trying to do? Matthew Sanderson, who served as counsel for Sens. John McCain and Mitt Romney, said he thinks the Trump campaign is “engaging in scare tactics.”“The reason in my opinion that the Trump campaign is filing these types of lawsuits is not necessarily to punish the Wisconsin station — they’re not going to be successful,” Sanderson said. “The reason they’re doing this is to send a message to the rest of the stations to be careful” about running anti-Trump ads.Unlike many other states, Wisconsin doesn’t have a law that makes complainants pay for defendants’ legal costs if a defamation suit ends up being dismissed as frivolous.Seager estimates that fighting a defamation lawsuit brought by a high-profile group like the Trump campaign could cost anywhere from $100,000 to $250,000, just to go through the process of getting it dismissed.We asked the Trump campaign and its lawyers about the suit and why they chose WJFW. They did not respond.The TV station commented, through a lawyer, that “WJFW has no choice but to fight the Trump campaign’s attempt to bully a small-market broadcaster into surrendering its First Amendment rights. The public counts on local broadcasters, especially in an election year, to remain free to air criticisms of public officials.”Of course, one critical difference between lawsuits Trump used to file in his business dealings and the ones his campaign is filing is that Trump no longer has to use his own money. His donors are picking up the tab.Trump’s disclosures show his campaign has paid about $200,000 to the firm handling the Wisconsin case.The campaign has also paid $3.3 million to the firm of attorney Charles Harder, who specializes in high-profile reputation defense lawsuits. Harder is representing the Trump campaign in the three other defamation suits against media organizations. Harder is perhaps best known as the lawyer who successfully sued Gawker into bankruptcy on Hulk Hogan’s behalf while being surreptitiously funded by venture capitalist Peter Thiel.Another set of expenses in the disclosures is also interesting. It shows the Trump campaign spent $95,161 on “legal & IT consulting” paid to … “The Trump Corporation.” Neither the campaign nor Trump’s company responded to questions about those charges.<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3em;">Contact Us</h3>You can contact us via Signal, WhatsApp or voicemail at 347-244-2134. <a href="https://www.propublica.org/leak-to-us/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Here’s more</a> about how you can contact us securely.You can always email us at <a href="mailto:tips@trumpincpodcast.org" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">tips@trumpincpodcast.org</a>.And finally, you can use the postal service:Trump Inc at ProPublica</div></div><div></div></div></div><div>===</div></div>