It might be a week late, but World Net Daily editor Joseph Farah and author Jerome Corsi have finally made good on their threats and sued Esquire for a satirical article that claimed that they were no longer members of the so-called ‘birther’ movement.
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The suit against Hearst Corp., Esquire and writer Mark Warren seeks $100 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitive damages plus legal costs.
Filed by Larry Klayman, the original founder of the group Judicial Watch and head of Freedom Watch USA who has said President Obama is on a “political jihad promoting Islam,” the suit calls Corsi a “world renowned author” and says WND “competes nationally and internationally” with Esquire.
The lawsuit claims that unnamed stores started to take copies of the WND-published book Where’s the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President off the shelves after Esquire published a satirical story that said Farah was recalling the book because President Barack Obama released a copy of his long-form birth certificate.
Both plaintiffs are also upset over a comment Warren gave to the Daily Caller, calling Farah and Corsi “execrable piece of shit.” Farah did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Via Jeff Bercovici, here’s the lawsuit:
[Ed. note: this story has been updated.]
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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