In a last-ditch attempt to stay relevant, one-time White House Communications Anthony Scaramucci has announced his intention to take legal action against the student newspaper at Tufts University, which earlier in the month published several articles in the The Tufts Daily newspaper criticizing the political figure.
Scaramucci not only threatened to sue for defamation, but also demanded in a letter for The Tufts Daily to remove the article and apologize for releasing it in the first place.
Scaramucci, a Tufts graduate, has been on the advisory board at the Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy since 2016. In his recent articles, write Camilo A. Caballero calls into question the legitimacy of Scaramucci’s place on the board, more or less calling for the school to remove the businessman from this prestigious position.
“A man who is irresponsible, inconsistent, an unethical opportunist and who exuded the degree of disreputability should not be on the Fletcher Board. The Board of Advisors plays a critical role in building the spirit of our school and also, in more practical terms, board members define and oversee our school’s operations,” Caballero wrote in his piece on November 6.
Scaramucci responded to the article with outrage. He claimed that the article could be considered defamation, and that the student suggested publicly that Scaramucci was unethical and greedy.
“So either back it up or you will hear from my lawyer. You may have a difference of opinion from me politically which I respect but you can’t make spurious claims about my reputation and integrity,” Scaramucci wrote in his letter to Caballero.
These kind of claims reveal the power of the press, even at the level of a school newspaper. However, they also shed light on how certain articles are perceived and the dangers that a newspaper can run into, thinking they are protected by free speech. School newspapers are widely seen as immune to this kind of criticism, but in this situation The Tufts Daily finds itself suddenly thrown into the spotlight. This is concerning for small publications, which are now confronted with the reality of causing real controversy and waves in spheres bigger than thought possible.
“Obviously it’s important to uphold the First Amendment and allow freedom of the press but I feel like the line is blurred depending on the interpretation of what the student wrote. The articles could be easily seen as defamation if the reader has any kind of bias, but when you start accusing school newspapers it is definitely a threat to their freedom of the press” NHS senior Sarah Dowling said.
Tufts’ responded to Scaramucci’s threats by cancelling an event that was scheduled to feature the political figure. It seems that the school for the most part has backed up Caballero and supported his pursuit of expressing his opinion publicly. While the journalist certainly did not support Scaramucci, it seems that because Caballero did not include any falsity and was clear that what he wrote was an opinion, Tufts’ does not consider the article to be defamation in any way.
On November 28, 2017, Scaramucci officially resigned from his position on the advisory board at the Fletcher School. Caballero described Scaramucci’s decision as a victory for the student body at Tufts, many of whom had previously signed a petition to remove him from the board.
Image Courtesy of Rolling Stone