MEAWW.COM / NEWS / POLITICS

Can Rittenhouse sue Biden for defamation? Teen urged to 'Sandmann' POTUS to 'oblivion'

People on social media urged Kyle Rittenhouse to follow in the footsteps of Nick Sandmann and sue Biden and other liberal media outlets

President Joe Biden could face a civil defamation suit from Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted on Friday, November 19, since the POTUS had branded him a “white supremacist” last year in a campaign ad.

The allegation was made against Rittenhouse in a video Biden's team made after last year’s chaotic presidential debate with former President Donald Trump. In the debate, Trump infamously said, "Stand back and stand by," after he was repeatedly challenged by the moderator as well as Biden to condemn white supremacists. Biden’s Twitter account later posted a video with the caption, “There’s no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.”

READ MORE

Kyle Rittenhouse verdict: 5 ways prosecution screwed up the case

'From one bully to another': Trump slammed for 'congratulating' Kyle Rittenhouse

The tweet featured footage of the white supremacists in Charlottesville. As the audio of Chris Wallace referencing violence in Kenosha played, the clip showed an image of Kyle, 18, wielding a semi-automatic rifle. At the time, it was reported that Rittenhouse was suing Biden for defamation. Hannity asked Kyle's mother Thursday, “When the then-candidate, now President of the United States, and other elected officials, that don’t know anything about your son refer to him as a white supremacist, I have yet to see any evidence whatsoever that he is such a person. When prominent people say that, how did that impact you and how did it impact him?”

Can Biden be sued by Rittenhouse?

In a piece for Breitbart, Joel B Pollak, a South African-American attorney said that Rittenhouse was a “public figure” when Biden had made the remark against him, which would make him eligible for filing a defamation lawsuit. Rittenhouse's team would have to show that the defendant acted with “actual malice” to make the case stick. Although Rittenhouse was charged within days of the deadly August 25 incident in Kenosha, there was a lack of evidence to support the claim of him being a "white supremacist," which was also repeated by the media at the time. And yet, Biden chose to insinuate the same claim in a video at the end of last September. 

Although presidents are typically immune from civil lawsuits, which take place during their time in office, presidents are not immune from suits that pertain to their actions from before taking office, like the infamous case of Paula Jones’s sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton suggested. This means Biden could be sued by Rittenhouse.

'Rittenhouse needs to Sandmann the media and Biden into oblivion'

The Washington Post and Nicholas Sandmann settled a libel and slander lawsuit or $250 million, stemming from coverage of the teen at a 2019 Right to Life March in Washington DC, where an edited video wrongly suggested he was mocking a counter-protester, who was a member of a minority community. People on social media urged Rittenhouse to follow in the footsteps of Sandmann as there was a possibility of him extracting way more money from suing Biden and other liberal media outlets. 

"I'm really really REALLY hoping the libel lawsuits start piling up against Biden, CNN, MSDNC, WaPo, et. al. Rittenhouse is about to make Sandmann's wins look like a little league game," one of them said, while another noted, "I would love to see Kyle Rittenhouse sue the media and Joe Biden for $1 billion. Sandmann was $275 million. I want him to be rich."

A third commented, "Kyle Rittenhouse now needs to sue the pants off the media and Joe Biden. Make Nicholas Sandmann's settlement look like a $1200 stimulus check in comparison. And then run for office." One more remarked, "Rittenhouse needs to Sandmann the media and Biden into oblivion. Can I get a Hell Yea?" A commenter tweeted, "Rittenhouse will do a Nick Sandmann. Sue @NewYorker, MSNBC, NBC News, Biden and others for defamation and win millions. #RittenhouseVerdict."