Trump files new suit against Des Moines Register one day before new SLAPP law takes effect
President Donald Trump, an Iowa Congress member and a former state lawmaker have sought to dismiss their federal lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and a former pollster and refile the suit in Iowa state court in the latest legal maneuver to keep the case out of federal court.
Trump sued the Register; its parent company, Gannett; and its former pollster, J. Ann Selzer, in December 2024 over an Iowa Poll released shortly before the Nov. 5 presidential election that allegedly overstated Iowa's support for Trump's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Iowa Poll found that Harris was leading Trump by 3 percentage points among likely Iowa voters. But Trump handily defeated Harris in Iowa on Election Day by 13 percentage points.
Trump claims in his suit that the poll's publication amounted to election interference and violated the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act.
The suit was initially filed in state court, and attorneys for Gannett filed to have it moved to federal court under a federal procedure allowing them to do so before being served.
Trump sought to have the case returned to an Iowa court, and filed an amended complaint adding two Iowa plaintiffs, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former Iowa state Sen. Brad Zaun, Republicans who alleged they were likewise harmed by the Iowa Poll.
On May 23, a federal judge denied Trump's motion to remand the case and rejected the amended complaint, dismissing Zaun and Miller-Meeks from the case. Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled that it was inappropriate to add parties to the case simply to defeat federal court jurisdiction.
Trump had appealed that decision, but on Monday, June 30, he instead filed a notice seeking to dismiss his federal case in its entirety.
Instead, he has filed a new complaint in state court, again joined by Zaun and Miller-Meeks. The complaints are otherwise nearly identical, again bringing claims for alleged Iowa Consumer Fraud Act violations and fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation.
Gannett and Selzer had filed motions to dismiss the original lawsuit, arguing Trump's claims were legally unsupported and ran afoul of the First Amendment.
The timing of Monday's filings comes one day before a new Iowa law takes effect that could have further hampered Trump's case.
House File 472, signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May, targets what are known as "strategic lawsuits against public participation," or SLAPP cases, which aren't likely to prevail in court but seek to use the threat of an expensive legal fight to intimidate a person or news organization from exercising their First Amendment rights.
The law allows defendants to file a special motion seeking expedited dismissal, but it takes effect July 1 and does not apply to lawsuits filed before that date.
"After losing his first attempt to send his case back to Iowa state court, and apparently recognizing that his appeal will be unsuccessful, President Trump is attempting to unilaterally dismiss his lawsuit from federal court and refile it in Iowa state court," Des Moines Register spokesperson Lark-Marie Anton said in a statement. "Although such a procedural maneuver is improper, and may not be permitted by the court, it is clearly intended to avoid the inevitable outcome of the Des Moines Register's motion to dismiss President Trump’s amended complaint currently pending in federal court."
"Unsurprisingly, President Trump’s continued retreat from federal court has occurred the day before Iowa’s newly enacted anti-SLAPP statute becomes effective and would provide the Des Moines Register with broad protection for news reporting on matters of public interest," Anton continued in the statement. "The Des Moines Register will continue to resist President Trump’s litigation gamesmanship and believes that regardless of the forum it will be successful in defending its rights under the First Amendment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This story was updated to add a gallery.