Joe Arpaio, the famed former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, has filed a lawsuit against CNN, Rolling Stone and others for defamation for falsely calling him a “felon” in their reports. The case was brought to federal court in Washington by Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch and a former federal prosecutor.
Named as defendants in the complaint are CNN President Jeff Zucker, show host Chris Cuomo, Rolling Stone magazine and the Huffington Post.
“Specifically, the complaint alleges that these ‘Fake News’ publications slandered and libeled former Maricopa sheriff and U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio by falsely branding him a ‘felon,'” Klayman explained.
To the contrary, Arpaio never was found guilty of a felony, nor arrested and imprisoned, as one of the publications claimed. He was simply found to have committed a misdemeanor, for which he was pardoned by President Donald Trump.