Page 19 - Gawker

However, many commentators condemned Thiel for

abandoning his libertarian principles and trying to gag

Gawker through third-party lawsuits seeing these as the

menace of billionaires turning the legal system into an

instrument of their whims.

Theil had, by May 2016, turned his attention to more

weighty things. He was by then a high-profile supporter of

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump giving a

speech on his behalf at July’s Republican National
Convention in Cleveland.

However, the threat of being sued by Gawker estate still

loomed so “to head that off, Thiel bid for the remaining

Gawker assets - including the flagship domain Gawker.com,

its archive, and outstanding legal claims, like those against

himself.” (17)