Following recent legal settlements with other media companies, former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump has filed a new defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and its publisher, Penguin Random House. The lawsuit seeks at least $15 billion in damages.
What the Lawsuit Claims
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Florida, accuses The New York Times of being a “mouthpiece of the Democrat Party” and conducting a long-term campaign of “intentional and malicious defamation” against him. It specifically points to the newspaper’s endorsement of his political opponent, Kamala Harris, various articles, and a book titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created The Illusion of Success.
The suit names several individual reporters and claims the paper’s actions were designed to interfere with his election efforts and cause severe harm to his reputation and business interests.
Context: Recent Media Settlements
This lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of legal actions by Trump against media organizations. In recent months, he has secured financial settlements from two other major companies:
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Disney/ABC and Paramount/CBS each agreed to pay him approximately $16 million to resolve separate defamation claims. These suits were widely considered by legal experts to be weak, but the companies chose to settle.
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He is also pursuing a separate $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal concerning its reporting on his past connections to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Legal Hurdles and Expert Opinion
Legal experts are highly skeptical that this new lawsuit will succeed. U.S. law sets a very high bar for public figures like Trump to win defamation cases. He must prove that the newspaper published information it knew was false or acted with a “reckless disregard” for the truth—a standard known as “actual malice.”
First Amendment scholars have called the suit “meritless” and an attempt to use the legal system to punish critics and drain their resources. The New York Times has a strong record in these cases; a similar lawsuit filed by Trump against the paper in 2021 was dismissed by a New York judge.
Response and Bro Implications
The New York Times has stated it will vigorously defend itself and its journalists, calling the lawsuit an attack on free press principles.
This case is seen as part of a larger strategy. Observers note that even if the lawsuit fails in court, it serves to rally political support and create a significant financial and logistical burden for the news organizations being sued. The outcome of this legal battle is expected to be closely watched for its implications on press freedom and the ability of journalists to report on powerful public figures.