Golfer-turned-PGA golfer Patrick Reid has threatened to sue CNN, Bloomberg and several of their stars over the news outlet’s coverage of the ongoing legal battles between the two pro-golf organizations.
Conservative attorney Larry Kleiman sent a letter to both news organizations on Sunday warning them that their recent reports alluding to LIV Golf’s ties to the Saudi regime slandered his client, the 2018 Masters champion. The letter to CNN specifically targeted broadcaster Jake Tapper and sports commentator Bob Costas. and CEO Chris Licht and general counsel David Vigilante. Bloomberg’s letter was addressed to legal reporter Eric Larson and CEO Michael Bloomberg.
Reid’s threats centered around reporting legal disputes between the PGA and LIV Golf. in that Lawsuits back and forth With the PGA, LIV attorneys issued a subpoena to Clout, a public relations firm hired by the PGA that also represents an organization composed of families of 9/11 victims. Clout’s attorneys challenged the subpoena, saying LIV wanted to “build an intelligence dossier” on the families of its Saudi backers. Meanwhile, LIV asserted that the PGA funded and colluded with the 9/11 group specifically to take down LIV.
Kleiman required each outlet to retract and cancel its coverage within five days of receiving the letter or the risk claims. He proposed $450 million in damages from CNN, but did not provide a monetary amount in his threat to Bloomberg.
CNN declined to comment. Larson, a Bloomberg reporter, said he was not authorized to comment and passed the request on to media relations, which did not respond. In an email, Klayman delayed messaging and warned that he would “not hesitate to sue” The Daily Beast if he deemed this report defamatory.
In the legal letter, Reed objected to Thursday’s broadcast Leadership, In which Tapper examined the legal battles between the PGA and the LIV and pointed to the latter association’s ties to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which funded the fledgling golf tour.
in the eight minute PlotTapper has noted a number of top PGA players who have since defected to LIV, including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Brooks Koepka. Reid, who joined LIV Golf in June, has not been named specifically.
“Last year, with that money, they succeeded in getting several top PGA players to join the company,” said Tapper. The anti-human rights Saudis did this by offering these players a great deal of money. a lot of money. blood money? Sure, maybe. Lots of it.” The CNN anchor listed the Saudi regime’s human rights abuses, including its links to al-Qaeda and its crackdown on women and LGBTQI people, and CIA intelligence findings said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killings. Washington Post The writer Jamal Khashoggi.
Tapper said LIV Golf was Saudi Arabia’s way of rebranding itself despite its human rights abuses – a phenomenon known as “sportswashing”. Costas apparently agreed, adding: “Many US companies, including some corporate sponsors of the PGA, have business relationships with Saudi Arabia, and the US and US sports leagues are deeply invested in China. That doesn’t change the fact that golfers These individuals have a choice to make.”
Reid objected to the framing of this part, particularly opposing Tupper’s suggestion that his winnings in the LIV were “blood money”. Kleiman wrote in the letter that Reed “is simply playing a round of golf funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which also owns significant stocks in countless American companies such as Disney, Boeing, JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, Blackrock Inc., Microsoft and many more.”
The Public Investment Fund has invested in all of these companies and maintains investments in JP Morgan, Amazon, Blackrock, and Microsoft. while he invested At Disney and Boeing in 2020 after the pandemic stocks fell They sold those shares later that year.
Eric Larson Blumberg Article, titled “Saudi-Backed Golf LIV Uses PGA Suit to Obtain Data on 9/11 Families, Court Told It,” also covered the dispute, stating in its first three paragraphs that the ongoing feud had taken a “sinister turn” in its involvement of 9/11 families. He did not mention Reed or any professional golfers who joined LIV Golf.
According to Clayman, the line about the “vicious turn” was a “calculated effort” by Klute, the PGA, and Larson to “incite violence” against Reid.
On the contrary, the sinister side of this story is not a legitimate discovery in pending court cases, but the overtly transparent effort by the PGA Tour and its agents, like Clout, to use the horrific tragedy of September 11th to foment hatred against the books and players of LIV Golf, in an anti-competitive scheme. To destroy the new golf league.
Reed has sued multiple outlets for defamation since joining LIV Golf. In August, it is lawsuit Golf channel and on-air personality Brandl Chamblee for $750 million, and later three other reporters entered, golf digest, and Janet’s publishing company the following month. then lawsuit Fox Sports new york post, The Associated Press and Hachette Book Group for $250 million for their coverage of LIV Golf.