US appeals court finds for Donald Trump Jr. in defamation suit by ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal court has rejected an appeal from former coal executive Don Blankenship, who argued that Donald Trump Jr. defamed him by calling him a “felon.” The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals left in place a lower court’s ruling in West Virginia against Blankenship. The former coal CEO served a year in prison on a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to violate safety standards before a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 men. Blankenship sued the son of then-President Donald Trump after Donald Trump Jr. posted the comment in May 2018 on social media. The appeals court found Donald Trump Jr. didn’t publish his statement with actual malice.