Thaksin was immediately attacked by Sondhi and accused of gagging the press. Sondhi's lawyer, Suwat Apaipakdi, said that "every newspaper reproduced his Ta Maha Bua comments. Why did Thaksin not sue him Ta Maha Bua? He chose to sue only the Manager Media Group because it's linked to Khun Sondhi". Thaksin's legal team noted that other newspapers only published selected passages of the sermon, and furthermore, Sondhi had used an allegedly slanderous headline. Respected civil rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao noted that Thaksin's lawsuit did have merit. He said the lawsuits "do not constitute an attack on freedom of the press".