US President Donald Trump has once again taken legal action against The New York Times, refiling a $15 billion defamation lawsuit weeks after a federal judge dismissed the initial version for excessive length and grandiose tone.
The new filing, lodged on Thursday in a Florida court and obtained by AFP, trims the original 85-page submission down to 40 pages.
It accuses The New York Times, three of its reporters, and the publisher Penguin Random House of spreading “false, defamatory, and malicious” information about the president in a book and two articles.
According to the suit, the statements in question were allegedly made “with actual malice” and have severely damaged Trump’s professional reputation, which the document describes as “painstakingly built over decades before his entry into politics.”
Trump is seeking at least $15 billion in compensatory damages, alongside unspecified punitive damages to be determined during the trial.
This move marks the latest in a series of aggressive confrontations between the president and the media since his return to the White House.
Trump has long accused several outlets of harboring bias against him, frequently using both legal and political channels to challenge their reporting.
The original lawsuit, dismissed in September by District Judge Steven Merryday, was criticized for its repetitive praise of Trump and its overly elaborate writing style.
The new version appears to address those issues, focusing instead on specific claims of defamation and intent.
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Trump’s combative approach toward journalists and news organizations has become a defining aspect of his political brand.
His administration has been marked by restrictions on press access, public criticism of reporters, and a series of defamation claims seeking enormous financial compensation.
Earlier in July, the president filed a $10 billion lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, accusing the publication of falsely linking him to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The case remains ongoing.
In the same month, Trump secured a $16 million settlement from Paramount over allegations that CBS News’ 60 Minutes had deceptively edited an interview to favor Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in the 2024 election.
While Trump’s latest lawsuit signals a continued offensive against what he describes as “media misinformation,” legal experts suggest it could reignite debates over press freedom and the limits of defamation law in the United States.
BBC
