President has sued media organizations and demanded $15 billion for defamation.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, four of its reporters, and publisher Penguin Random House, alleging reputational and financial damage.
The suit, lodged on Monday at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, challenges a series of New York Times articles, including a 2024 editorial declaring him unfit for office, as well as a Penguin-published book titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.
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“Defendants maliciously published the Book and the Articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” the filing stated.
Trump’s legal team argued the publications inflicted “massive economic damage” on his brand, citing the decline in Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) stock as an example of the harm caused. The filing claims the coverage not only undermined Trump’s business reputation but also damaged his political movement, including America First and Make America Great Again (MAGA).
Neither The New York Times nor Penguin Random House has issued a response.
The lawsuit follows Trump’s warning last week that he would take legal action against the Times for reporting on an allegedly suggestive note and drawing linked to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump maintains he severed ties with Epstein in 2006, years before the financier’s legal scandals and death in custody in 2019.
Announcing the lawsuit on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times.”
The filing marks the latest escalation in Trump’s aggressive legal campaign against media outlets. Earlier this year, he filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its parent company over a report tying him to Epstein. In July, CBS parent Paramount reached a settlement with Trump after he accused its flagship program 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
