Media

Covington Catholic lawyer ‘looking very carefully’ at Bill Maher over ‘defamatory’ statements

by Joe Concha - 02/21/19 11:11 AM ET

The attorney representing Covington Catholic high school student Nick Sandmann said Thursday that he is also “looking very carefully” at HBO’s Bill Maher for making “defamatory” statements against the 16-year-old in January.

The comments come after Sandmann filed a lawsuit against The Washington Post over its coverage of the student’s viral encounter with a Native American elder in Washington, D.C.

Attorney Lin Wood told Fox News that in addition to the Post, his legal team is also looking at other outlets, including CNN and HBO.

“Well, certainly CNN and Bill Maher did things that we consider to have crossed the line. We think the statements they made are defamatory. They’re not humorous,” Wood said. “So certainly Bill Maher is somebody that we’re looking at very carefully, and HBO, for allowing him to make those defamatory statements.”

The lawyer added that Sandmann may also sue other organizations.

“We have not decided who we will sue next. However, we are discussing that and these lawsuits will continue to roll out over the next 30 to 60 days,” Wood said.

On Jan. 27, Maher referred to Sandmann as “a little prick” on his weekly HBO political program “Real Time.”

“I don’t blame the kid, the smirk-face kid. I blame lead poisoning and bad parenting. And, oh yeah, I blame the f—ing kid, what a little prick,” Maher said.

“Smirk face, like that’s not a dick move at any age to stick your face in this elderly man,” the host continued.

“You know, I don’t spend a lot of time, I must tell you, around Catholic school children, but I do not get what Catholic priests see in these kids,” Maher said.

The lawsuit, which calls for The Washington Post to pay $250 million in damages, alleges the paper published “a series of false and defamatory print and online articles” about Sandmann’s encounter.

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos paid $250 million for the newspaper in 2013. The paper said it will mount a vigorous defense against the suit.