Nicholas Sandmann’s Lawyer Accuses CNN, Washington Post Employees of ‘Breach of Confidentiality’ Over Tweets About Defamation Cases
CNN’s Brian Stelter retweeted a legal expert’s assessment of the case brought by Sandmann, the Covington student with whom CNN settled in January and the Washington Post settled last week
Covington High School student Nicholas Sandmann’s lawyer says that CNN’s Brian Stelter and others committed a “breach of confidentiality agreement” when they tweeted about the defamation cases against their media organizations that were settled for undisclosed sums.
Attorney Lin Wood represented Sandmann in two defamation cases against CNN and The Washinton Post over their reporting of Sandmann’s encounter with a Native American tribal elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in January 2019. CNN settled the case in January, while the Post settled last week, but details of the cases were made available to TheWrap. Wood went after CNN’s “Reliable Sources” host after he retweeted a post from attorney Mark S. Zaid.
Zaid was replying to a tweet that has since been deleted, so its contents were not immediately clear. But Zaid’s unfavorable view of Sandmann’s lawsuits were evident without the source material. He wrote, “I’ve litigated defamation cases. Sandman was undoubtedly paid nuisance value settlement & nothing more.”
Wood tweeteda screenshot of Stelter’s account that shows his retweet of Zaid’s post, and he wrote, “This retweet by @brianstelter may have cost him his job at @CNN. It is called breach of confidentiality agreement. Brian Stelter is a liar. I know how to deal with liars.”
Other prominentlawyers on Twitter agreed with Zaid, including CNN contributor Asha Rangappa.
Wood doubled down when responding to Rangappa, saying, “Heads are going to roll at CNN or @N1ckSandmann is going to filing another lawsuit & reveal truth.” Wood also tweeted a similar statement about Washington Post journalist Dan Zak, who, according to a screenshot of his post, outlined how settlements work and said it “makes sense” the Post would settle. He added that a settlement stops the defendant from admitting fault but said “there was none” in the Post’s case.
Some legal commentators then came to the defense of the journalists and disagreed with Wood’s characterization of Stelter’s retweet or any potential employment-related penalties.
ProPublica editor Jesse Eisenger wrote, “Hmmm, looks like @LLinWood doesn’t understand the law but seems willing to file nuisance lawsuits.” He was one of a number of legal experts to point out that Wood’s tweet could be interpreted as confirmation that he got “nuisance value.”
Representatives for CNN and the Post did not immediately return a request for comment on Wood’s claim about their employees’ futures. Wood did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on whether more legal action is forthcoming or if his tweet about Stelter confirms he got “nuisance value.”
Sandmann filed a $275 million defamation suit against CNN in March 2019, saying the network’s coverage of the student’s encounter with Native American tribal elder Nathan Phillips in January of that year constituted a “vicious attack” against his client.
All the Broadway Shows Killed (and Postponed) Due to Coronavirus Shutdown
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed Broadway theaters on March 12, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York theater scene was heating up ahead of the Tony Awards -- with 31 shows playing and another eight scheduled to begin performances by mid-April. Now the theaters will remain dark until at least September -- and the Tony Awards have been postponed indefinitely. But the uncertainty of when theaters (and Broadway-bound tourists) might return has forced some producers to close shows early -- or push new productions to sometime in the future.
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Closed: "Hangmen"
Martin McDonagh’s new comedy, starring Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") and Mark Addy ("Game of Thrones"), announced March 20 it would not reopen after playing 13 preview performances ahead of an expected March 19 official opening.
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Closed: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
The revival of Edward Albee's classic drama, starring Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett, had played just nine preview performances before Broadway went dark. With the scheduled April 9 official opening off the table, producers decided to close the show on March 21.
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Postponed: "Flying Over Sunset"
The new musical by composer Tom Kitt ("Next to Normal," pictured), lyricist Michael Korie ("Grey Gardens") and book writer James Lapine ("Into the Woods") was scheduled to begin performances on March 12 ahead of an official April 16 opening. On March 24, the Lincoln Center Theater announced the show's opening would be pushed to the fall -- and then in June pushed it back until spring 2021.
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Postponed: "Birthday Candles"
Noah Haidle's play, starring Debra Messing and Andre Braugher, was due to begin performances in early April. But on March 25, Roundabout Theatre Company announced it would open this fall instead.
Postponed: "Caroline, or Change"
Roundabout also delayed the opening of its revival of the Jeanine Tesori-Tony Kushner musical "Caroline, or Change," starring Sharon D. Clarke in an Olivier Award-winning performance. The show had been set for an April 7 opening at Studio 54.
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Postponed: "How I Learned to Drive"
Manhattan Theatre Club announced on April 7 it was postponing a Mary-Louise Parker-led revival of "How I Learned to Drive" to the 2020-21 season. The Pulitzer-winning drama, with David Morse as co-star, was due to open April 22, just before the cutoff for this year's Tony Awards.
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Closed: "Beetlejuice"
The Tony-nominated musical was being evicted from the Winter Garden Theatre on June 6 (even though ticket sales had dramatically improved over the fall and winter). Now producers are hoping to find a new theater when Broadway opens up, though there's no guarantee that will happen. The adaptation of Tim Burton's 1988 movie played played 27 previews and 366 regular performances.
Postponed: "Plaza Suite"
A new revival of Neil Simon's comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick will now play March 19, 2021 through July 18, 2021. The show had been expected to begin previews at the Hudson Theater on March 13, the day after theaters were shut down.
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Postponed: "MJ"
The new Michael Jackson musical, starring Tony nominee Ephraim Sykes as the late King of Pop, had been planning to begin performances in July for an August opening. But now it's pushed back its debut to next spring, with a new opening night set for April 15, 2021.
Closed: "Frozen"
Disney's stage version of the animated hit "Frozen" became the first long-running show to close due to the pandemic. The Tony-nominated show opened in March 2018 and played 825 performances and 26 previews.
Postponed: "The Music Man"
A new revival of the classic musical starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster was set to begin performances in September for an official opening on Oct. 15. But in June, the production announced that the opening night would be pushed back to
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Closed: "Mean Girls"
The musical, which Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond adapted from Fey's 2004 movie, opened in April 2018 and played 805 performances before the pandemic shut it down. On Jan. 7, 2011, producers announced the show would not reopen.
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Postponed: The Tony Awards
Since there's no word yet on when Broadway performances might resume, the Broadway League on March 25 indefinitely postponed this year's Tony Awards, which had been scheduled for June 7 at Radio City Music Hall. Though nominations were announced in October 2020, no date has been set for the ceremony.
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“The Music Man” with Hugh Jackman and other shows won’t reopen until 2021
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed Broadway theaters on March 12, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York theater scene was heating up ahead of the Tony Awards -- with 31 shows playing and another eight scheduled to begin performances by mid-April. Now the theaters will remain dark until at least September -- and the Tony Awards have been postponed indefinitely. But the uncertainty of when theaters (and Broadway-bound tourists) might return has forced some producers to close shows early -- or push new productions to sometime in the future.