Judge Declines to Toss Blankenship Suit Against Donald Trump Jr.

September 3, 2021 by Dan McCue
Judge Declines to Toss Blankenship Suit Against Donald Trump Jr.
Don Blankenship

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal Judge in West Virginia has refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed by one-time coal magnate Don Blankenship against Donald Trump Jr.

The lawsuit stems from comments Trump Jr., son of former President Donald Trump, made about Blankenship during the 2018 U.S. Senate race in West Virginia.

That race ended, of course, with the re-election of Sen. Joe Manchin.

But throughout the race, Trump Jr. harped on Blankenship, the former CEO of the Massey Energy coal company, noting he served a year behind bars for his role in a 2010 mining disaster.

The explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia killed 38 people and was the deadliest in American coal mining in about 40 years. 

Jurors convicted Blankenship of a misdemeanor charge of “routine, willful violations” of mandatory federal mine safety and health standards, but acquitted him of three felony charges that could have led to a prison term of 30 years.

In his lawsuit, Blankenship argues Trump Jr. wrongly defamed him by describing him as a convicted “felon,” Blankenship was incarcerated because of a misdemeanor conviction, not a felony conviction.

In one of his anti-Blankenship tweets, Trump Jr. said of Manchin, “He’s probably never run against a felon.” 

U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver, Jr., who was appointed by President Gerald Ford in the mid-1970s held that Blankenship’s lawsuit can move forward.

THe 95-year-old jurist wrote that, “based on this article that Trump Jr. himself cites within his own quote tweet, there is a plausible inference that he had knowledge of the plaintiff’s conviction history in association with the mine explosion, and in particular that the conviction was a misdemeanor, not a felony.”

Blankenship, who has since left the Republican party, lost the 2018 GOP senate primary in his state to Republican Patrick Morrisey.

The coal executive ran for president as a member of the right-wing Constitution Party in 2020.

A+
a-
  • 2018 Election
  • defamation
  • Don Blankenship
  • Donald Trump Jr.
  • Massey Energy
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Law

    March 25, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    DC Attorney General Warns Sports Teams About Relocating to Virginia

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general is invoking a contract provision with local professional sports teams in the city’s latest bid to keep them from relocating to Northern Virginia. D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb told Monumental Sports and Entertainment in a letter last week... Read More

    March 22, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Judge Upholds DC Law Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections that sought to invalidate a law giving noncitizens a right to vote in local elections. The Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act would allow anyone who is a resident... Read More

    March 20, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Trump Wins Right of Appeal to Try to Disqualify Georgia Prosecutor

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is getting another chance to exclude a prosecutor he accused of political reprisal in his upcoming criminal trial in Atlanta on charges of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election vote count in Georgia. Trump asked the judge overseeing... Read More

    Pro-Trump Michigan Attorney Arrested After Hearing in DC Over Leaking Dominion Documents

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a... Read More

    An attorney facing criminal charges for illegally accessing Michigan voting machines after the 2020 election was arrested Monday after a hearing in a separate case in federal court in Washington, D.C. Stefanie Lambert was arrested by U.S. Marshals after a hearing over possible sanctions against her... Read More

    March 15, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    Fani Willis Can Continue Case Against Trump With Single Condition, Judge Rules

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald... Read More

    ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to pursue an election interference case against former President Donald Trump and several others — as long as the prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship steps aside, a judge in Georgia ruled on Friday.... Read More

    March 13, 2024
    by Tom Ramstack
    Georgia Judge Dismisses Some Charges Against Trump

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020... Read More

    ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants facing criminal prosecution in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election won a partial court victory Wednesday. A Georgia judge dismissed six of the 41 charges against the former president and his accused fellow conspirators.... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top