The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a bid by a prominent former West Virginia mining company executive to make it easier for public figures to sue for defamation in a case that challenged longstanding protections for news organizations.
The justices turned away former Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship's appeal of a lower court's decision throwing out his defamation lawsuit against media outlets, including Fox News and MSNBC, for characterizing him as a "felon" during his unsuccessful 2018 run for the U.S. Senate.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas in a written opinion agreed with Tuesday's decision to turn away Blankenship's appeal. However, Thomas reiterated his view that the court should reconsider the 1964 precedent in an "appropriate case." A jury found Blankenship guilty of a single misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards but did not convict him on related felony charges. Blankenship, who also was fined $250,000, was released from prison in 2017 after serving a one-year sentence.
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