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