Gawker to Hulk Hogan -- Your Reputation Was RUINED Before Sex Tape

Hulk Hogan has no right to sue Gawker for ruining his reputation by publishing parts of his sex tape ... because he had already admitted that he's a lying, cheating bastard ... this according to Gawker.

Gawker has filed a response to Hulk's $100,000,000 lawsuit against the website ... begging the judge to throw out the case because they had a journalistic right to publish the 1 minute 41 second clip.

In the docs, Gawker claims Hulk had already admitted he was an adulterer in a book he released in 2009 ... so the video couldn't have caused any more harm to his already sullied reputation.

Gawker also claims the website shouldn't be on the hook for invading Hulk's privacy because it didn't record the tape ... it just distributed a small amount of the footage, which it believed to be newsworthy because Hulk is a world famous celebrity.

Gawker also says it shouldn't have to reveal the identity of the person who leaked the footage to the website -- despite Hulk's demands -- citing laws that protect the news sources.