I didn’t say they weren’t “liable.” I said, it’s very hard to prove DAMAGES. I bet you’ll find significant damages in the Proxmire case. Aside from reputation-—which we know is huge, but which courts do NOT hold as significant unless you are a celebrity who loses a lot of money-—what are the damages to the Marines?
Damages could be a little, could be a lot. It’s the jury’s call. Defamation per se, however, requires no proof of damages.