Laura Loomer v. Bill Maher Lawsuit: Dismissal and Appeal

A federal judge dismissed Laura Loomer’s defamation lawsuit against Bill Maher and HBO on April 22, 2026, ruling that Maher’s on-air suggestion that Loomer was sleeping with Donald Trump was obviously a joke and that Loomer had produced no evidence of actual malice or real-world harm. Loomer, who had sought more than $150 million, has appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.¹²

What Maher Said on Air

The remark aired September 13, 2024, on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. During a panel discussion, Al Franken mentioned that Trump had brought Loomer to a 9/11 remembrance event. Maher picked it up: “I think maybe Laura Loomer’s in an arranged relationship to affect the election because she’s very close to Trump. She’s 31, looks like his type.” He then reached back to an earlier segment of his show titled around the question of “who’s Trump fucking,” and added, “I think we may have our answer this week. I think it might be Laura Loomer.”³

The context mattered to the eventual ruling. Loomer had flown with Trump to the September 10 presidential debate in Philadelphia, appeared with him in the spin room, and then traveled with him the next day to 9/11 memorial events in New York City and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Her presence drew heavy news coverage and criticism from members of both parties, including Senator Lindsey Graham.⁴⁵

The Complaint

Loomer filed suit in Sumter County Circuit Court in Florida on October 21, 2024, naming Maher and Home Box Office, Inc. as defendants. The complaint alleged Maher had “graphically alleged that Ms. Loomer was involved in a sexual affair with then-presidential candidate Trump” and that he followed up with further disparaging remarks the next week. She demanded more than $150 million in damages. HBO removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where it was assigned to Judge James S. Moody Jr.⁶⁷

Loomer was represented by Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and her longtime lawyer. Maher and HBO were represented by Katherine Bolger of Davis Wright Tremaine.⁷

Why the Judge Threw It Out

In an 18-page opinion, Judge Moody granted summary judgment for the defendants on three independent grounds, any one of which would have sunk the case.

First, the statement wasn’t a factual assertion. A “reasonable Real Time viewer would have understood Maher was making a joke, and not a statement of fact about Plaintiff and President Trump,” the judge wrote. The delivery by a “well-known comedian” on a “late-night comedy television series centered around jokes” telegraphed the register, and the audience’s laughter and groans confirmed that the crowd heard it that way.⁸⁹

Second, there was no actual malice. Because Loomer is a public figure, she had to show Maher or HBO either knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. The court found the opposite: Maher’s joke drew on a week of intense, widely covered speculation about Loomer’s proximity to Trump. Maher himself testified he made the remark because of Loomer and Trump’s “sudden closeness in the news that week” and said it would have been “remiss” not to comment on the frenzy.¹⁰³

Third, no damages. Loomer could not name a single person who took the joke as a factual claim. She offered no expert testimony on reputational harm, and the court called her claims of lost job opportunities “entirely speculative.” Her own testimony cut against her: her income rose in 2024, and she remained close to Trump, who “continues to solicit her opinions” and “invite her to the White House.”¹⁰

Loomer’s Reaction and the Appeal

Loomer responded on X, calling the ruling “outrageous,” “totally dishonest,” and “misogynistic,” and insisting Maher’s comment was “no joke.” She said the decision was “factually and legally wrong” and pledged to press the case up the appellate ladder.⁸¹⁰

She filed a notice of appeal on May 22, 2026. The matter is now pending before the Eleventh Circuit as case number 26-11795.²

The Depositions Behind the Case

Before the summary judgment ruling, the case gained a separate notoriety for how the lawyers behaved during depositions. On December 4, 2025, Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lammens issued a show-cause order describing the conduct as “appalling,” citing name-calling, political rants, insults traded between counsel, and Loomer’s own refusal to answer questions and tangential attacks on Democrats as “scumbags.” At one point, Bolger taunted Klayman with “you’re about to not be” a lawyer, a reference to his then-pending Florida bar suspension; Klayman traded insults instead of objecting.⁷

Both attorneys filed written responses in January 2026. Bolger apologized unconditionally and the court discharged the order against her. The court found Klayman “fails to acknowledge that he did anything wrong” and referred him to the Ocala Division grievance committee and The Florida Bar, ordering deposition transcripts and video turned over. Judge Moody stayed that sanctions order while he reviewed it.¹¹ Separately, the Florida Supreme Court suspended Klayman from practicing law for two years on November 6, 2025, over ethics violations tied to his former organization, Judicial Watch, and client-communication failures in an unrelated case.¹²

How This Fits Loomer’s Litigation Record

The Maher case follows a familiar pattern. In 2017, Loomer sued New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Washington Examiner, and other outlets for calling her “far-right” and a “white nationalist.” A Florida state court dismissed the refiled case with prejudice in April 2021, ruling the characterizations were non-actionable opinions and calling it “precisely the type of harassing lawsuit” the anti-SLAPP statute was meant to deter; the court invited the defendants to seek sanctions and fees against both Loomer and Klayman.¹³

She also sued Facebook in 2019, seeking more than $3 billion in punitive damages after being banned; that case ended in August 2020 without a settlement.¹⁴¹³ The Eleventh Circuit upheld dismissal of her suit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations over her Twitter ban in December 2020, and the Ninth Circuit rejected a broader social-media case in March 2025, which Bloomberg Law called her “fourth failed lawsuit targeting social media platforms.”¹⁵¹⁶

Whether the Eleventh Circuit disturbs Judge Moody’s ruling is now the only open question in the Maher case. To do so, the panel would have to disagree with all three of his independent grounds: that the joke was a joke, that Maher didn’t act with actual malice, and that Loomer suffered no damages the record can show.

1
Deadline. Laura Loomer Bill Maher Defamation Case Dismissed
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CourtListener. Loomer v. Maher Docket, Page 2
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Reason. Laura Loomer Loses Defamation Suit Against Bill Maher
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The New York Times. Trump and Laura Loomer
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The Boston Globe. Donald Trump and Laura Loomer, Far-Right Activist
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CourtListener. Loomer v. Maher Docket
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FindLaw. Depositions in Loomer v. Maher Result in Lawyers Penning Apology Letters to the Judge
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NBC News. Judge Dismisses Laura Loomer Defamation Suit Against Bill Maher
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The Wrap. Laura Loomer Defamation Lawsuit Bill Maher Trump Affair Thrown Out
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CNN. Laura Loomer Bill Maher HBO Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed
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Reason. More on Lawyer Hijinks in Laura Loomer’s and Bill Maher’s Depositions
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Bloomberg Law. Florida Court Suspends Klayman, Complicating Work With Loomer
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CourtListener. Loomer v. Facebook, Inc. Docket
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First Amendment Watch. Laura Loomer Sues Facebook for Defamation
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Florida Politics. Court Rules Against Laura Loomer in Twitter Ban Case
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Bloomberg Law. Laura Loomer’s Facebook Censorship Suit Loses at Appeals Court