> the U.S. does not have criminal libel laws
Some states do have criminal-libel laws, though there isn't a federal one. See: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/criminal-libel-statutes-...
Some states do have criminal-libel laws, though there isn't a federal one. See: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/criminal-libel-statutes-...
For instance a court in the 1990s struck down Montana's criminal libel law as unconstitutional: https://casetext.com/case/state-v-helfrich-1 But as far as I know it is still on the books.