A US federal judge on Friday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit targeted the newspaper’s reporting on him over the years, including his alleged connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Judge Steven Merryday described Trump’s filing as a “decidedly improper” attempt to attack an opponent. He said the lawsuit did not follow federal rules, which require a clear explanation of why legal action is justified.
Judge Merryday said a lawsuit cannot be used as a place for personal insults or to vent against opponents. He ruled that Trump’s complaint violated federal procedure requiring a “short and plain statement” explaining why he should win.
“A complaint should fairly, precisely, directly, soberly and economically inform the defendants of the nature and content of the claims,” the lawsuit read.
It added, “A complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective—not a protected platform to rage against an adversary.”
Trump criticises NYT on social media
Earlier this week, Trump accused The New York Times of decades of false reporting on Truth Social and labelled the outlet as a “rag”.
“The Times has engaged in a decades-long method of lying about your favourite President (me!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our nation as a whole,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The US President went on to say, “I am proud to hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible, as we are doing with the fake news networks such as our successful litigation against George Slopadopoulos/ABC/Disney, and 60 Minutes/CBS/Paramount, who knew that they were falsely smearing me through a highly sophisticated system of document and visual alteration, which was, in effect, a malicious form of defamation, and thus, settled for record amounts.”
Trump also announced $15 billion lawsuit against the “most degenerate newspaper”, adding that it would be filed in Florida.
In another post, he said, “Today, I have the Great Honour of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times, one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the history of our country, becoming a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party. I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution ever. The New York Times has been permitted to freely lie, slander, and defame me for far too long, and that ends now!
Trump denies writing letter to Epstein
Trump has time and again said that he had cut ties with Epstein long before his crimes became public. He also denied writing a letter to Epstein that has his name and signature or creating a drawing of a woman that appears in a book linked to Epstein.
Before suing the NYT, Trump had filed lawsuits against The Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, for reporting on Epstein-related files. Lachlan Murdoch has won the succession battle for the $24 billion media empire and would lead the conglomerate, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and The New York Post.
The Epstein scandal has had international consequences. The UK even withdrew its ambassador to Washington over Trump’s alleged ties to Epstein. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while facing sex abuse charges, and his aide, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a prison sentence for assisting him.