With all of the drama surrounding the fight between Daniel Snyder and Washington City Paper, there is nothing more concrete than an official court document. And with that, the legalese is here.

A tabloid newspaper is not entitled to employ lies, half-truths, innuendo and anti-Semitic imagery to smear, malign, defame, and slander a prominent member of the community in order to generate reader interest and maintain its circulation. Yet that is exactly what the Washington City Paper and its principal columnist have resorted to with respect to their coverage of Mr. Snyder.

 

Mr. Snyder is a public figure. As such, he accepts the right of the public and the press to criticize him or to express personal dislike, whether or not such expressions are justified by the facts. What he will not accept, however, is a tabloid printing lies about him or using anti-Semitic imagery, half-truths, and innuendo to smear and defame him, or to demean his wife's prominent and public role as National Football League's national spokeswoman for breast cancer awareness...[or] recklessly printing lies...[or] an absolute abdication of any responsibility by reporters and newspapers for fact-checking and truth-telling...

Mr. Snyder feels blessed to be in a position and to have the ability and means to stand up to such blatant ugliness.