Trump Defamation Lawsuit Against Pulitzer Board Advances in Florida Court

A Florida appeals court has ruled that Donald Trump can proceed with his defamation lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize board members over a disputed statement about the 2018 National Reporting awards.

The lawsuit centers on the Pulitzer Board's refusal to rescind the 2018 National Reporting prizes awarded to The New York Times and The Washington Post for Russian election interference coverage.
Trump alleges that the Pulitzer Board's public statement defending the awards defamed him by implying a connection between his campaign and Russian interference, which he claims was debunked.
A Florida appellate court upheld the trial court's decision to deny motions to dismiss the case, affirming jurisdiction over non-resident board members based on their alleged participation in drafting the statement.
The court's opinion included a concurring analysis suggesting that the statement could be actionable as defamation by implication and criticized the 'now-debunked' allegations of collusion.
This ruling allows the case to proceed to discovery, though the court has not yet ruled on the merits of Trump's defamation claims.