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Trump Refiles Suit Over Iowa Poll in State Court on Eve of Anti-SLAPP Law

It shifts the case under a new state statute that empowers courts to quickly end meritless lawsuits.

President Donald Trump arrives to Social Dinner of the NATO Summit, at Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands on June 24, 2025.
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Overview

  • On June 30, President Trump dismissed his federal lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register without prejudice and immediately refiled the case in Polk County state court
  • The original complaint claimed Selzer’s pre-election poll showing Kamala Harris ahead by three points constituted fraudulent election interference under Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act
  • Selzer’s poll proved to be a major outlier as Trump went on to win Iowa by more than 13 points in the November election
  • The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is defending Selzer pro bono, warning that the lawsuit represents a strategic attempt to silence political speech
  • Iowa’s anti-SLAPP law takes effect July 1, granting media defendants a fast-track mechanism to dismiss lawsuits deemed to chill public-interest reporting