Sean Spicer is threatening to sue The Red Letter

Because The Red Letter told the truth about Sean Spicer

Welcome back to The Red Letter.

Last night at 9:03pm, as I was getting ready for bed, I received an e-mail from a lawyer for Sean Spicer demanding that I apologize for stating in an October 2024 interview with Mediaite that when I covered President Trump’s first term as a White House correspondent for POLITICO, I was never granted a White House hard pass press badge during Spicer’s eight month tenure as press secretary. I had to apply daily for a temporary day pass to enter the White House, so it was up to Spicer to decide if I could be admitted onto the White House grounds while others on my team could enter freely every day. Once Sarah Sanders became press secretary and Spicer departed, I received a hard badge. Spicer had made his animus toward me known, calling me “an idiot with no real sources” on the record at the time.

Now, Spicer, nearly eight years later through his lawyers, is accusing me of defamation for causing “damage to his personal and professional reputation.” He didn’t need my help with that.

“We demand that you immediately inform Mediaite that the claims you made in your interview were untrue, prominently and publicly disclose having done so and otherwise retract and disavow your claims, and apologize to Mr. Spicer,” Michael Bowe of Brown Rudnick wrote to me on behalf of Spicer.

“If you have not done so by April 30, 2025, I have been directed to sue you for defamation.”

Imagine reading that before bed, six weeks into launching my new venture as an independent journalist.

Here is the letter from Spicer’s lawyers:

This is my response to Bowe:

Dear Mr. Bowe,

I write representing myself because there is no need to hire legal representation to deal with your threats, intimidation tactics or blustering idiocies.

Perhaps you are unaware that the current population of the United States of America stands at 347 million people which is an important point for your consideration given that amongst that total number there is an infinitesimally small percentage of Americans not currently incarcerated for fraud who have less credibility than Sean Spicer.

What I said, I stand by.

I stand by it because it is true that I did not have a White House hard pass during the seven months that Sean Spicer was Press Secretary, and Sean Spicer is a notorious liar who has told thousands of public lies.

Do you recall this one, what he announced from the White House podium on his first day as Press Secretary about the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration?

"The largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe," Spicer said.

It is a a lie that he admitted to NPR that he regretted.

Mr. Spicer has long demonstrated a talent for prevarication and a proclivity to say anything to anyone at anytime if it serves his self interest.

Let me share a photo of me wearing a temporary White House pass that evidenced my inability to secure a permanent one from the Spicer led press office.

There are many more just like these but I’ll save them for the trial (lol)

Of course, there will be no trial and no lawsuit because your letter is nothing more than proof that lawyers will murder trees for no purpose at all because surely you must have heard of one of the most seminal libel-proof plaintiff cases, that of well-known mobster John "Boobie" Cerasini (Cerasini v Sony Corp., 991 F. Supp. 343, 352 S.D.N.Y. 1998) (quoting Guccione v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 800 F.2d 298, 3030 (2d Cir.1986). The Second Circuit held that "a plaintiff's reputation with respect to a specific subject may be so badly tarnished that he cannot be further injured by allegedly false statements on that subject," and given that he was "generally reputed to be an associate of organized crime," that he could claim no damages for defamation.

"If there is little or no harm to a plaintiff's already low reputation, then the statements are not actionable," the ruling stated.

Discovery would have been an enjoyable process but I don’t see it in our future given the utter speciousness of your claims and demands.

However, I was wondering if you might help me pinpoint the precise shade of yellow in this costume.

I was thinking of pointing out that Mr. Spicer danced like a penguin while dressed like a canary but I fear you might call it a defamation.

I just call it like I see it and when I make a factual claim you can put it in the bank because my name is Tara Palmeri not Sean Spicer.

Until we meet again,

Tara