Unfortunately, there can’t be a lawsuit because it wasn’t the Guillen family that was slandered.
Disagree. And worth a shot. The publication deliberately makes the families look like clueless losers who couldn't see that a mean old politician was using them.
The problem for the publication is that their statements were untruthful. So if they damaged or insulted the families and the memory of their fallen sons in front of hundreds of millions of Americans by making false claims, they're responsible for that.
They're in the news business, so they're held to a higher standard. It's their business—–their only business—-to be accurate in return for their First Amendment armor. In fact, their work is is supposed to be "in the public interest."
A "reckless disregard for the truth" claim against the journos--that they were motivated to be untruthful by their obvious animus against Trump--could have legs.