Glenn Beck Invokes Constitution Libel Defense

Glenn Beck

Radio host Glenn Beck says in a recent legal filing that his on-air remarks inaccurately linking a Saudi Arabian student to the Boston Marathon bombings were protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and that a federal judge should dismiss a libel case the student brought against Beck and his employers, according to The Boston Business Journal.

In April 2013, Abdulrahman Alharbi was a Saudi Arabian student living outside Boston. He was near the finish line when the bombs exploded and acted in a way that drew the scrutiny of investigators.

In the days after the attack, Beck called Alharbi a "bad, bad" person and said he was the financier for the attacks. Just before the first anniversary of the bombings, Alharbi filed a libel suit against Beck, TheBlaze Inc., Mercury Radio Arts and Premiere Radio Networks.

Beck's lawyers, in their recent filing in U.S. District Court for Boston, don't question Alharbi's innocence. But they argue that courts have set a high standard for libel in similar cases and that Alharbi's grievances fall short of that standard.

The talk show host's lawyers argue that to prevail in court against their client, Alharbi would have to prove "actual malice," including that Beck deliberately made false accusations against Alharbi.

Read More Now