Telecoms entrepreneur, Galway based business man, Declan Ganley is suing CNN over a report suggesting Donald Trump’s administration pressurised US defence officials to award his company a multi-billion dollar contract without a competitive tender.

According to today’s Irish Independent, lawyers for Mr Ganley have filed papers with the High Court in Dublin seeking permission to serve proceedings on the news network.

The matter is listed before a judge next week. Permission is needed from the court to serve proceedings on parties outside the EU.

The defamation suit relates to a report carried by the news network last October, in the run up to the US presidential election.

Contacted by the paper, Mr Ganley said he could not comment as the matter is before the courts.

However, he has previously described the allegation that the Trump White House wanted to fast-track a contract for his Rivada Networks company without a competitive process as “a lie”.

CNN has stood over the story and it remains accessible on its digital platforms.

Declan Ganley ran as a candidate in this constituency (The North West constituency) for Europe back in 2009. He failed to secure the seat for his party Libertas on that occasion when he led a campaign against the Lisbon treaty.