Judge rules that woman can't sue Trump over insulting tweet

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by a political strategist who said her reputation was trashed when he called her a "dummy" on Twitter.

Judge Barbara Jaffe said Trump's tweets about Cheryl Jacobus were constitutionally protected expressions of opinion.

Trump targeted Jacobus after she went on CNN last February and accused him of misleading voters about how he was financing his presidential campaign.

In a tweet, Trump wrote that Jacobus had "begged us for a job" and called her "a real dummy." In a later tweet, he called her a "major loser."

The judge wrote in her ruling posted Tuesday that while Trump's tweets are "rife with vague and simplistic insults," they are protected by the First Amendment.

A lawyer for Jacobus vowed to appeal.