Ted Rall Says Lawsuit Against Coulter Now Possible

E&P

NEW YORK Editorial cartoonist Ted Rall announced on his blog that supporters have pledged enough money for him to sue columnist Ann Coulter. But the suit is still not 100% definite.

Rall didn't disclose the exact amount of money now pledged. But he had announced late last month -- when the total neared $20,000 -- that he was getting close.

The cartoonist is considering a suit against Coulter for her comment, made last month in a speech and in her column, that Rall was among those entering Iran's Holocaust cartoon contest. Given that Iran's leader has questioned the Holocaust's existence, Rall feels Coulter's followers might have gotten the false impression that he's also a Holocaust revisionist (E&P Online, Feb. 16).

Rall -- who, like Coulter, is with Universal Press Syndicate -- told E&P last month: "I was a history major in college, and World War II was my specialty. There's no Holocaust denier here."

In his Friday blog entry, Rall stated: "Thanks to hundreds of generous pledgers we now have enough money committed to launching a slander and libel suit against Coulter for her remarks falsely claiming that I had entered Iran's Holocaust cartoon contest. Now I'm working with my lawyers on minutiae and legal research to make sure that those funds are used wisely. ...

"Of course, should this move forward, I will rely upon those of you who have not contributed to keep the lawsuit going all the way to the end. As for now, however, we probably have enough to get started."