New York Times successfully defends against Trump's 15 billion dollar lawsuit.
In a significant turn of events, the U.S. District Court in Florida has dismissed President Donald Trump's $15 billion defamation and insult lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit, filed on September 15, 2024, alleges that the newspaper has been lying about him for decades and acts as a mouthpiece for Democrats.
The court's ruling came after Judge Steven Merryday stated that the complaint did not concisely state the cause of action it was supposed to address. The judge further clarified that a lawsuit is not a public forum for insults and profanity, nor is it a protected platform for expressing anger towards an opponent.
The lawsuit, initially filed with 'great honour' by Trump, targeted The New York Times, its reporters, and the authors of a book published by Penguin Random House. The defendants included Suzanne Craig and Ross Büttner, NYT reporters Peter Baker and Michael Schmidt, the publishers Penguin Random House, and The New York Times themselves.
The lawsuit stemmed from Trump's claims that The New York Times openly supports his former opponent in the election, former Vice President Kamala Harris. The initial complaint contained references to articles from The New York Times, including one published before the 2024 presidential election claiming he was unfit for office.
Trump's legal team represented him in the lawsuit, but the specific attorneys' names are not mentioned in the provided sources. The court, however, gave Trump 28 days to refile the lawsuit in a new version.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, media conglomerate Paramount Global, which owns CBS News, paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an interview with Harris. Trump has also filed lawsuits against other American media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal.
The NYT editorial board labels Trump's allegations as baseless and considers them an attempt to hinder independent journalism. The dismissal of Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times comes after ABC News settled a defamation dispute with Trump out of court and agreed to pay $15 million in December 2024.
