rejected an appeal Tuesday from former coal executive Don Blankenship, who argued that major news outlets defamed him by calling him a"felon."against Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy. He served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge after he was found guilty of conspiring to violate safety standards at a West Virginia mine before
Justice Clarence Thomas, while agreeing with the court's action Tuesday, repeated his call for the court to overturn its landmark 1964 libel ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s determination that CNN, Fox News and 14 other outlets sued by Blankenship did not act with “actual malice” amid coverage of his unsuccessful 2018 U.S. Senate campaign, even if they failed to meet journalistic standards.Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.