{"id":2685945,"date":"2026-10-16T20:33:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-tried-to-trash-trump-again-now-theyre-facing-another-multimillion-suit-this-time-from-a-15-year-old-they-trashed\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T20:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:37:38","slug":"cbs-tried-to-trash-trump-again-now-theyre-facing-another-multimillion-suit-this-time-from-a-15-year-old-they-trashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-tried-to-trash-trump-again-now-theyre-facing-another-multimillion-suit-this-time-from-a-15-year-old-they-trashed\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Tried to Trash Trump Again, Now They&#8217;re Facing Another Multimillion Suit, This Time from a 15-Year-Old They Trashed"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcbs-tried-to-trash-trump-again-now-theyre-facing-another-multimillion-suit-this-time-from-a-15-year-old-they-trashed%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2685945&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An article discusses a legal action against CBS News for incorrectly identifying a 15-year-old Maryland teenager, known as &#8220;JV,&#8221; as responsible for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool over the summer. Despite &#8220;JV&#8221; being detained briefly but released without charges, CBS News published a report showing his image alongside those of actual vandals, falsely implying his involvement. This misrepresentation was especially damaging due to President Donald Trump&#8217;s outspoken criticism of the vandalism and his calls for harsh punishment. The lawsuit alleges CBS either knew the report was false or acted recklessly, causing &#8220;JV&#8221; meaningful embarrassment and public condemnation. CBS eventually removed its online reports and issued a retraction. Critics suggest CBS&#8217;s motives may have been politically motivated, aiming to portray Trump as authoritarian by implicating a minor. The case highlights concerns over media misconduct and its impact on individuals&#8217; reputation and well-being.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>In what appears to have been an attempt made over the summer to impugn President Donald Trump, CBS News published bad information that\u2019s now poised to potentially cost it $20 million in damages.<\/p>\n<p>While covering the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/five-arrests-made-connection-alleged-reflecting-pool-vandalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vandalism<\/a> occurring at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool over the summer, CBS News identified a detained 15-year-old Maryland teenager known as simply \u201cJV\u201d as one of the culprits.<\/p>\n<p>But according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, \u201cJV\u201d was not, in fact, responsible for any vandalism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was not arrested for vandalizing it,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/thedesk.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/JV-v-CBS-News-Complaint-comp.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit states<\/a>, as reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/cbs-news-faces-20m-defamation-lawsuit-misidentifying-maryland-teenager-reflecting-pool-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a>. \u201cHe was not accused by law enforcement of vandalizing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/thedesk.net\/2026\/10\/teen-sues-cbs-news-reflecting-pool-vandalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Desk<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/thedesk.net\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media-focused news site<\/a> that first reported the lawsuit story, \u201cJV\u201d was riding an electric dirt bike near the pool on June 20 when he was briefly detained and handcuffed but soon after released without charges.<\/p>\n<p>Despite \u201cJV\u201d being released without charges, CBS News ran a report the following day showing \u201cJV\u201d alongside the actual vandals, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCBS News broadcast and published a story to a national audience that placed JV\u2019s image alongside the assertion that five people had been arrested for vandalizing and \u2018sabotaging\u2019 the Reflecting Pool, thereby falsely portraying JV as one of the perpetrators of a highly publicized federal crime,\u201d the suit states,<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit continues by referring to the accusation as \u201cparticularly damaging\u201d in part because of President Donald Trump\u2019s fury over the pool being vandalized.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe accusation was particularly damaging because at all times material to the allegations, the Reflecting Pool renovation and subsequent alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool is or has been the subject of intense national attention and political controversy,\u201d the suit reads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Donald Trump frequently discusses the Reflecting Pool renovation and publicly condemned those accused of vandalism in extraordinarily harsh terms, stating that they should be \u2018prosecuted to the max,&#8217;\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n<p>A few days before the incident occurred, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-reveals-new-plan-vandal-proof-lincoln-reflecting-pool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">angry president<\/a> took to  with that exact message:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udea8 NOW: President Trump says he now has to find a \u201cVANDAL PROOF MATERIAL\u201d for the Lincoln Reflecting Pool because so many leftists tried damaging it<\/p>\n<p>Former Olympian David Hearn now faces possible PRISON TIME for doing this<\/p>\n<p>The party of traitors\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EricLDaugh\/status\/2078116342360686931?\">July 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cJV is not an animal, deranged vandal or scum,\u201d the suit continues, referring to words used by the president (in other  posts) to describe the vandals. \u201cHe is a normal 15-year-old high school student who was dragged into this horrific spotlight by the reckless reporting of CBS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a result of these combined factors, \u201cJV\u201d allegedly suffered \u201cextreme embarrassment, humiliation, and \u2026 public condemnation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A number of critics contend that CBS News only went after \u201cJV\u201d in an attempt to portray President Trump as an authoritarian who arrests children.<\/p>\n<p>The network and Trump certainly have a history. In the immediate aftermath of the July 2024 attempted assassination on then-candidate Trump, a CBS report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-shooting-cbs-warns-danger-upset-trump-supporters\/\">highlighted the fury<\/a> of Trump supporters, and CBS personality Margaret Brennan suggesting that Republican outrage would be to blame for \u201cfurther political violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In effect, Trump and his supporters were somehow being painted as the villains in the story.<\/p>\n<p>In October of that year, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-hits-cbs-hurts-slaps-network-massive-lawsuit-handling-kamala-harris-interview\/\">filed a $20 billion lawsuit<\/a> against CBS after the network\u2019s notorious editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that Trump declared was intended to make benefit the Democratic presidential nominee\u2019s campaign. (The lawsuit was eventually settled with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/another-one-bites-dust-cbs-settles-trump-infamous-kamala-60-minutes-segment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS agreeing to pay<\/a> $16 million that will benefit the Trump library fund.)<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit filed Wednesday notes that while the original CBS News broadcast showed \u201cJV\u201d from behind, other versions of its report that made it onto the network\u2019s website and its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-palestinian-protester-who-allegedly-posted-pro-hamas-video-arrested-for-death-of-jewish-protester-paul-kessler\/\" title=\"Pro...Palestinian Protester, Who Allegedly Posted Pro...Hamas Video, Arrested For Death Of Jewish Protester Paul Kessler\">social media accounts showed<\/a> his full face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe visual and verbal presentation published by Defendants unmistakably conveyed the false message that JV was among the persons arrested for vandalizing the Reflecting Pool and further confused JV with [David] Hearn, an adult who was subsequently indicted on a felony charge arising from the vandalism,\u201d the suit reads.<\/p>\n<p>(Hearn is an alleged Reflecting Pool vandal who was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/jeanine-pirro-announces-felony-indictment-reflecting-pool-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eventually indicted by<\/a> the Trump administration. However, Hearn\u2019s case <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/alert-trump-blisters-jeanine-pirro-reportedly-considering-firing-folded-like-umbrella-reflecting-pool-cases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was eventually dismissed<\/a> after Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host who now serves as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, blamed the Department of the Interior for failing to reveal information regarding \u201cflawed installation by the contractor.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>The suit also alleges that CBS News went after \u201cJV\u201d either knowing that its reporting was false or \u201cwith reckless disregard\u201d for the truth.<\/p>\n<p>CBS News did eventually remove its social media reports by Aug. 6, according to The Desk. But the network didn\u2019t issue an official retraction until Aug. 16.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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A lawsuit filed this week claims &#8220;JV&#8221; was not involved and was released without charges, yet CBS&#8217;s report falsely linked him to the crime, potentially damaging his reputation amid political tensions involving President Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2685946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/reflecting-pool-for-oct.-16-2026.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[9142,32142,4188,3634,35248],"class_list":["post-2685945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-defamation","tag-legal-action","tag-media","tag-trump","tag-tv-news"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/reflecting-pool-for-oct.-16-2026.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2685945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2685945"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2685945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2685954,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2685945\/revisions\/2685954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2685946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2685945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2685945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2685945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}