The American Civil Liberties Union has filed an amicus brief in support of John Oliver, HBO and Time Warner, all of whom have been targeted in a defamation lawsuit filed by coal mogul Robert Murray over comments made on the comedian's “Last Week Tonight” late-night TV show.

If the intent of the filing was to suggest the suit was ridiculous, consider that box checked.

The ACLU's brief, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, doesn't pull any punches — or punch lines — in asking the court to dismiss the suit and reject the plaintiffs' request for an injunction preventing Oliver from engaging in further episodes of what Murray claims is “ruthless character assassination.”