Trump Lawyer Alejandro Brito Demands Center for American Progress Retract National Guard Report Or Faces $5 Billion Suit

Defamation threat over report

President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Alejandro Brito sent a letter to the Center for American Progress demanding the think tank retract a report about Trump’s National Guard deployments to cities across the country, or face a $5 billion defamation lawsuit.

The Hill reported that Brito wrote the Center “manufactured” that the deployments weren’t improving violent crime, and that he set a 5 p.m. Friday deadline for CAP to retract, apologize, and compensate Trump.

The New York Times said the report was published on July 13 and that Brito gave Neera Tanden and board members until 5 p.m. on Friday to retract it and apologize to Trump.

Tanden pushed back in a statement, saying the center would “neither cower nor bend in the face” of legal action while defending the report as “grounded in rigorous, evidence-based research and analysis.”

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CAP rejects intimidation

CAP President and CEO Neera Tanden told reporters the threatened lawsuit’s attack on facts and evidence was “baseless,” and she said “A fundamental protection of the First Amendment is to allow for the publication of facts and analysis that are contrary to the arguments and claims of any administration.”

In the same dispute, Kevin H. Metz, CAP’s general counsel, warned that if Trump followed through, the group would welcome full discovery detailing the costs of the deployments and the “full picture” of White House involvement.

Just The News reported that Metz said a precedent of targeting think tanks would not stay confined to CAP and could let a future administration target groups like the Heritage Foundation or America First Policy Institute.

The New York Times framed the threats as part of Trump’s bid to use the legal system against those who voice unflattering facts and opinions generally protected by the First Amendment.

Reporting for this sectionJust The NewsThe New York Times

What’s at stake next

The Center for American Progress report at the center of the dispute concluded there was “no evidence” the National Guard deployments reduced violent crime, and Inquirer reported the analysis said the deployments were poised to cost taxpayers more than $1.7 billion if they continued through the end of 2026. Inquirer also said the report asserted the “primary goal” of the deployments was “never to stop crime,” describing them instead as “a dangerous power grab by the Trump administration.”

In the dispute over the report, The Hill said Trump’s letter claimed the think tank “manufactured” that the deployments weren’t improving violent crime, while Brito warned “Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies.” The Hill added that Metz responded by calling any suit “absurd” and warning that threatening the group could ultimately hurt conservative groups too, including the Heritage Foundation or America First Policy Institute.

Reporting for this sectionInquirerThe Hill