Trump Vows $5 Billion Lawsuit Against Liberal Think Tank Over National Guard Deployment Report

The Center for American Progress (CAP) has received a legal threat from former President Donald Trump’s attorney, demanding the liberal research organization retract a recent report critical of the administration’s National Guard deployment strategy.

Released on July 13, the report examines National Guard deployments in Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Los Angeles, concluding that these operations had no measurable impact on crime reduction despite an estimated cost of $1.7 billion. The analysis compares crime rates in cities with Guard presence to those without intervention, finding no statistically significant difference. Furthermore, the report notes that violent crime began declining well before Trump assumed office in 2025.

Alejandro Brito, a personal attorney for Trump, sent CAP a letter threatening litigation unless the organization withdrew the study, according to a Friday report by the New York Times. Importantly, this legal threat is issued in Trump’s personal capacity rather than representing the federal government.

CAP responded on Friday by reaffirming its commitment to the report’s findings and condemning the lawsuit threat as an attempt to suppress legitimate academic inquiry. “Our research presents facts about National Guard deployments that are inconvenient to the current administration,” said Neera Tanden, CAP’s president and CEO. She characterized the defamation claim as baseless, stating, “The First Amendment protects our right to publish facts and analysis that may challenge any administration’s narrative. This lawsuit is a transparent effort to silence us, and we will not be intimidated.”

Brito’s letter argues that CAP’s report implies the President “knowingly misled the public” and “manipulated crime statistics for political gain.” However, CAP counters that these allegations are “absurd” and emphasizes that their conclusions stem from rigorous data analysis. In their formal response, the organization stated that their work “concerns crime statistics and federal government actions, not President Trump personally,” adding that the statements “are true and cannot defame the President because they do not reference him.”

Washington’s prominent liberal think tank, CAP was established in 2003 by John Podesta, former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton and later chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

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