Yeah but he doesn't have the money to take on a major media company like that in court obviously. Maybe he does, but it definitely is a challenge for him.
Whatever you want to call Hogan's issue, defaming, freedom of press...Did the court not rule in his favor and award him 9 figures? So clearly the courts found that Hogan's case had merit. It wasn't like Thiel bought off a jury mafia style. It was still decided in a court of law.
If it was deemed there was no violation, then Hogan wouldn't have gotten 120 million or whatever it was.
There were lots of problems with that verdict, what was and wasn't allowed to be presented. It's on appeal. We all know Courts make mistakes and are biased in favor of Celebrities often.