# Trump's lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize board members moves forward after judge denies temporary stay request

## Suit stems from Pulitzer Prizes being awarded to New York Times, Washington Post for 'now-debunked' Russiagate reporting

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Published March 11, 2025 10:55am EDT

#### Joe Concha rips WaPo, NYT for refusing to return Pulitzers after Durham report: 'Messenger cannot be trusted'



Fox News contributor Joe Concha lambasts the liberal media for refusing to return Pulitzer Prizes issued for reporting on Trump-Russia collusion and reacts to Biden cutting Mayor Eric Adams from his 2024 advisory board.

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In 2022, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board over the 2018 National Reporting prizes given to the New York Times and Washington Post for coverage of the "now-debunked theory" of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Judge Robert L. Pegg of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Okeechobee County, Florida, rejected the argument made by the Pulitzer Prize board members, who insisted on having the temporary stay in place while Trump was in office and that his obligations regarding the lawsuit could "interfere with his duties as president as he could not devote his time and energy to the problems and issues facing the nation."

Trump's lawyers argued the stay request had no standing since such a request would be in the prerogative of the plaintiff.

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Plaintiff’s arguments are well taken. Should the duties of the President interfere with his ability to perform his obligations in this action, he is certainly entitled to seek the appropriate relief, Pegg ruled Monday. If he does not, the Board may still seek other sanctions.

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"This latest ruling is an unequivocal victory for President Donald J. Trump in his pursuit of justice against the Pulitzer Prize board members for their dishonest and defamatory conduct," Quincy Bird, attorney for President Trump, told Fox News Digital.

Trump's lawyers called the temporary stay request "nothing more than an inappropriate attempt to delay this case, avoid the disclosure of evidence supporting the allegations in the Amended Complaint demonstrating a years-long conspiracy between Defendants, and to prolong Defendants’ defamation of President Trump."

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"Allowing any president to pursue civil claims against private citizens in state court while simultaneously claiming that private citizens cannot pursue civil claims against him in the same exact court is extremely troubling and should raise concerns for all Americans. The Pulitzer Board is evaluating next steps and remains committed to continuing our defense of journalism," the sitting Pulitzer board told  in a statement.

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"The Pulitzer Prize Board has an established, formal process by which complaints against winning entries are carefully reviewed. In the last three years, the Pulitzer Board has received inquiries, including from former President Donald Trump, about submissions from The New York Times and The Washington Post on Russian interference in the U.S. election and its connections to the Trump campaign – submissions that jointly won the 2018 National Reporting prize," the Pulitzer Prize Board previously wrote.

The case against the Pulitzer board members is one of many legal fronts, criminal and civil, being coordinated by Trump’s Senior Counsel Boris Epshteyn.

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_Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report._
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