Katie Couric Sued For Defamation In Anti-Gun Documentary

Stephanie Soechtig, Katie Couric

A Virginia gun-rights group is suing Katie Couric and the producers of the documentary “Under the Gun” for $12 million in defamation over an interview that was revealed to have been deceptively edited.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) and two gun-rights activists featured in the film, Daniel Hawes and Patricia Webb, are suing Couric, who produced the documentary and led the interview in question, as well as director Stephanie Soechtig, Atlas Films and Epix, the film’s distributor.

The Washington Times is reporting the suit filed in federal court Tuesday, obtained by
BearingArms.com, claimed the producers of the film “intentionally manipulated” footage to make it look like members of the VCDL were stumped when asked about gun background checks.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages of $12 million and punitive damages of $350,000 per plaintiff, as well as an injunction against further distribution of the edited footage.

Couric and Soechtig faced a wave of backlash this summer after raw audio of the interview between Couric and the VCDL proved that the group was not accurately portrayed in the documentary. Couric apologized for the misleading editing, but Ms. Soechtig defiantly stood by her artistic license.

During the interview, Couric asked members of the VCDL, “If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from purchasing a gun?”

The film portrays a fictional exchange in which members of the VCDL appear silent, stumped, and avoiding eye contact for nearly nine seconds after Katie Couric asks a question about background checks. An unedited audio recording of the interview reveals that—contrary to the portrayal in the film—the VCDL members had immediately begun responding to Couric’s question.

In the filing, the VCDL, Daniel L. Hawes, Esq., and Patricia Webb allege that the filmmakers knowingly and maliciously manufactured the fictional exchange by splicing in footage that the filmmakers took surreptitiously after telling the interviewees to be silent for ten seconds so that recording equipment could be calibrated. The filing also contains side-by-side screenshots of the film’s footage of the VCDL members and anti-gun advocates, alleging that the filmmakers manipulated lighting to cast shadows on the VCDL members and to make them appear sinister and untrustworthy.