I spoke with two lawyers and a law-school professor about this action over the past several months. All three had this assessment of the case:
1. The case would probably have gone to trial because it would not have run afoul of DC's "SLAPP Law". [Google "SLAPP" for a much better explanation than I can give you here if you care enough about what it is...]
2. At trial, all three folks said that Snyder had virtually no chance to prevail because the legal standard for defamation/slander/libel as it pertains to public figures is:
a. difficult to prove in any case - - and - -
b. not even close to being met in this case.
Remember, I am NOT an attorney and have never spent a moment of my life in law school but these are the condensed thoughts of three folks who have passed the bar exams in the DC/No. Virginia area and one of whom teaches law locally.
Good to have all this in the rear-view mirror ... UNLESS ...
Dave McKenna writes "another article" sometime soon.