Ok, so a statement is a “false statement of fact,” what other legal challenges does a public official face?
In addition to the heighted knowledge requirement for statements made against public officials, the politician is hard pressed to fit political statements under the basic defamation framework. Statements made during political campaign receive the best chance of falling into one or more of the five categories of statements considered defamatory per se. Defamatory per se statements are those from which it is clear from the statement itself that it is defamatory. The per se categories most likely to encompass political attack ads are the categories for words that imply an inability to perform duties of office or employment, or statements implying a lack of ability in the person’s trade, profession or business. However, even these categories present unique challenges to a politician claiming that he has been defamed by a political statement. Political defamation cases often require courts to determine whether a political campaign can be considered the politician’s “profession” or “business
