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Daily Beast Settles LaCivita Libel Suit With No Payment or Apology

The agreement follows editorial changes clarifying FEC-documented payments to LaCivita’s consulting firm.

Overview

  • The parties reached a settlement on Friday, with The Daily Beast saying it paid nothing and offered no apology.
  • The outlet added an editor’s note, corrected and clarified its reporting on compensation linked to LaCivita’s campaign work, and removed a related podcast episode that could not be edited.
  • LaCivita’s suit, filed in March in Virginia, challenged a late-2024 article pegging his pay at $22 million; the piece was revised to $19.2 million with a clarification that payments went to his firm, not him personally, citing FEC records.
  • The Daily Beast characterized the lawsuit as meritless intimidation and said the reporting was vindicated, while LaCivita’s attorney called the editor’s notes a white flag of surrender.
  • Before the case ended, the outlet said it was preparing expansive discovery, including about 50 subpoenas to associates and potentially senior Trump aides and the president.