Former Trump campaign manager sues Daily Beast for defamation over inaccurate reporting on earnings

Former Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita on Monday sued the Daily Beast for defamation, after it allegedly published "malicious" and "damag[ing]" stories about him during the 2024 campaign.

The outlet, which said it stands by its reporting, previously reported that LaCivita made $22 million from Trump campaign entities in two years. The story was later corrected to $19.2 million.

LaCivita's attorney, Mark Geragos, has refuted the claims in the stories, asserting in a letter to the outlet last year that the stories were "categorically false and belied by the campaign finance records themselves."

Geragos said in the lawsuit that his client has "suffered special damages, including damage to his reputation and loss of business income," because of the "defamatory" reporting, according to Axios.

"Defendant's false statements created the false impression that Mr. LaCivita was charging exorbitant rates for his services and personally enriching himself at the expense of the campaign, thereby harming his reputation as an honest, reasonable, and ethical political operative," the lawsuit alleged.

LaCivita has claimed that the bulk of the payments to him and his firm, Advancing Strategies LLC, was to buy advertisements. 

"The Daily Beast stands by its reporting on Chris LaCivita. His lawsuit is meritless and a transparent attempt to intimidate the Beast and silence the independent press," the Daily Beast said in a statement. "The Beast will defend itself vigorously and looks forward to following the money to confirm where every penny flowed in LaCivita's LLC."

The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Richmond, Virginia.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.