Donald Trump's threat to sue The New York Times after the paper published a story about two women who claimed he groped them has generated a quick response from a Times' lawyer.
The message: So sue us.
The Times signalled that it would fight any lawsuit on a number of fronts, including the idea that the story played a role in damaging his reputation.
"The essence of a libel claim, of course, is the protection of one's reputation," the paper's legal counsel David McCraw wrote to one of Trump's lawyer's in a letter on Thursday.
"Mr Trump has bragged about his non-consensual touching of women. He has bragged about intruding on beauty pageant contestants in their dressing rooms.
"He acquiesced to a radio host's request to discuss Mr Trump's own daughter as a 'piece of ass.'
"Multiple women not mentioned in our article have publicly come forward to report on Mr Trump's unwanted advances. Nothing in our article has had the slightest effect on the reputation that Mr Trump, through his own words and actions, has already created for himself."
Trump is a public figure and to succeed in a libel case, he would have to prove that the Times knew the story was false, but published it anyway, or that they had reckless disregard for the truth.
It's a high standard for celebrities and public officials to clear before they can prevail in a libel suit, but it's one that has governed defamation law for more than 50 years.
McCraw also defended the decision to publish the story, noting that Trump himself talked about the issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault at Sunday's presidential debate.
He also wrote that the reporters "diligently worked to confirm the women's accounts, and included Trump's 'forceful denial.'"
