Former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita sued The Daily Beast on Monday, accusing the digital outlet of defamation for its reporting on his compensation in the throes of the 2024 race.
The civil lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia, turns on a story published in late 2024 titled: “Trump In Cash Crisis-As Campaign Chief’s $22m Pay Revealed.” LaCivita says the Beast created the false impression “that Mr. LaCivita was personally profiting excessively from his work on the campaign and that he was prioritizing personal gain over the campaign’s success,” according to court documents obtained by TheWrap.
In a statement to the New York Times, which first reported the story, the Beast said: “His lawsuit is meritless and a transparent attempt to intimidate The Beast and silence the independent press. The Beast will defend itself vigorously and looks forward to following the money to confirm where every penny flowed in LaCivita’s L.L.C.”
The article was written by freelancer Michael Isikoff, who is not named as a defendant. It stated that LaCivita, a manager for Mr. Trump’s reelection effort, was paid millions over two years from the campaign, which was repeated in several follow-up Daily Beast articles and a podcast.
LaCivita’s lawyers argue that public Federal Election Commission records proved otherwise, and demanded a retraction in November. The Beast the corrected its article to change the amount from $22 million to $19 million and clarified that his consulting firm was paid, not him personally.
The Beast removed a podcast episode after LaCivita’s lawyers demanded further retractions in January. But a letter from the Daily Beast to Mark Geragos, obtained by TheWrap, the outlet disputed his accounting, saying: “our journalism is substantially true. The FEC records cited in the publications indisputably show $19.2 million was paid to Mr. LaCivita’s consulting company, the LLC, over the course of two years from Trump super PACs, the Trump campaign, and the Republican National Committee. The LLC is located in Mr. LaCivita’s home in Powhatan, Virginia, has no website, no other corporate officers, and no apparent employees.”
