Ann Coulter Lies; You Decide: Should I Sue?

Republican columnist Ann Coulter spoke earlier today to the Conservative Political Action Committee, where the audience included 1000 right-wingers including Vice President Dick Cheney. There, among other things, she is reported to have said the following:

"Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and the NY Times have made submissions."

She lied. I have not submitted anything to any Iranian publication. I have no intention of doing so. And I have said that in public, repeatedly.

Obviously, in making such a statement, Coulter crossed the line into outright libel--she intentionally stated a mistruth intended to harm my reputation. And obviously a libel suit is called for. Problem is, it costs many thousands of dollars to file such a case, much less pursue it through the courts. (I know this from personal experience.)

So what do you, dear readers, think I should do? Should I do what no liberal has been willing to do as of yet--hold a lying neoconservative to task for smearing them? I'll do it with your support--but I need your help to decide. Thus I hereby I announce

THE FIRST ANNUAL ANN COULTER LAWSUIT OPINION POLL

To vote NO, simply email chet@rall.com with a message telling me that you vote no. Feel free to impugn my patriotism if you feel so moved.

To vote YES, please email chet@rall.com along with a solemn pledge stating the amount of financial support you are willing to contribute to support my legal challenge to Coulter's libelous statement.

If enough YES votes come in with enough serious pledges, I'll see Ann in court. If not, well, chalk up another victory for the Right.

UPDATE (Sat. 11:45 AM EST): Votes are currently running 3-to-1 in FAVOR of suing Ann Coulter. And people are putting their money where their mouths are! Pledges already total more than $1500; since it costs about $6000 to draft and file a libel lawsuit in New York, where both she and I live, we're a quarter of the way to having enough to get the ball rolling. If that number continues to rise, I'll be in touch with the pledgers about putting their contributions into my lawyer's escrow PayPal account and start things going.

Some have asked whether she'll be able to use the "just funnin'" defense. She'll certainly try, but I doubt her claims of "humor" or sarcasm will fly with a jury since (a) she's not funny and (b) her audiences take her literally and she knows it. But this will all depend on my attorneys, a team with expertise in libel law. If the pledges keep coming, I'll know whether it's even financially feasible to proceed. Of course, I could sue and lose. But, as emailers have remarked variously: (a) it'd be amusing nevertheless and (b) would finally hold her accountable for her over-the-top libelous statements about Americans with more patriotism than they could ever dream of.

UPDATE 2 (Sun. 4:30 EST): Votes and pledges continue to come in roughly the same proportion as yesterday. So far pledges amount to about $2700 and most votes are positive. If we come close to the magic $6000 by tomorrow (Monday) I will meet with my attorney to discuss what to do. Bear in mind, of course, that it can cost more than $100,000 to actually *pursue* such a suit over the years. $6000 only gets a suit drafted and filed. And, of course, there's no guarantee of winning. Some readers have (rightly) pointed out that this will be a difficult case. I'll know more once my lawyer's offices open for business tomorrow morning. I pledge, by the way, that any net proceeds from a settlement or final judgement (minus attorney's fees, natch) will be donated to a political organization chosen by those who front my legal fees.

A lot of people want to see Coulter held to account for her disgusting statements, and that's gratifying. It may be an "honor" to be considered influential enough to be referenced at a national gathering of right-wingers but being smeared as some sort of treasonous Holocaust denier is sickening. These are the kinds of statements that prompt Republican bloggers to casually claim that I'm anti-Semitic (!) when nothing could be further from the truth. As a student of history who specialized in World War II I am not only completely aware of the monstrous scale and unique place of the Holocaust in modern history but terrified that genocide could happen again--if ideologues like Coulter manage to seize the complete power they crave. Call me straight, call me gay, call me an asshole, but if you call me a Holocaust revisionist I won't take it lying down.

UPDATE 3 (Mon., 4:30 PM EST): My lawyer is out of the office today, presumably digging out of the blizzard, but is expected in the office tomorrow morning. I'll talk to him then and post the replies there. If pledges continue to come in at the present rate, we should hit the $6000 mark sometime late tonight. Thanks to all who have written to offer support, as well as those who say "don't do it, it'll only make you look like a liberal girlie-man"—seriously, all advice is appreciated. Even the negatives. I have received so many "Sue Coulter" emails that I'm beginning to think Sue is her first name. Whether I choose to move forward will depend on the pledges as well as my lawyer's opinion. If he says there's a solid case, looks like a go. If not, nope.

UPDATE 4 (Tues., 1:20 PM EST): My lawyer is researching precedents to determine whether a case would be legally feasible. In the meantime, I'm declaring the First Ann Coulter Lawsuit Opinion Poll over. Despite votes generated yesterday by right-wing blogs (which, unlike the Florida elections officials, I counted) votes were overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing a suit. Pledges continue to be welcomed, but the vote is final. I will be in touch with pledgers to let them know whether or not we're moving forward.

UPDATE 5 (Wed., 10:00 AM EST): The law is mighty but not all that swift--because legal research is slow. I'm still awaiting word on whether the case law favors the filing of a suit because, after all, there's no point fighting a battle one is destined to lose. You'll know what I'm doing as soon as I do. Meanwhile, the predictable flow of emails from (male) right-wingers calling for me to be anally raped has commenced. Why do right-wingers want to rape Americans so much?