Florida federal judge tosses Trump’s $15B defamation lawsuit against The New York Times
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Florida federal judge on Friday dismissed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The New York Times.
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday ruled that Trump’s 85-page lawsuit was excessively long and filled with “tedious and burdensome” language that had no relevance to the legal claims.
“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally,” Merryday wrote in a four-page order. “This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner.”
The judge gave Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint, which must not exceed 40 pages.
The lawsuit targeted four Times journalists concerning a book and three articles published within a two-month period before the last election. The New York Times had described the lawsuit as meritless and an attempt to dissuade independent reporting.
“We welcome the judge’s quick ruling, which recognized that the complaint was a political document rather than a serious legal filing,” said Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander on Friday.
Merryday highlighted that the lawsuit did not address the first defamation count until page 80 and contained extensive discussions unrelated to the core legal issues, including Trump’s work on “The Apprentice” TV show and a lengthy list of his other media appearances.
“As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” wrote Merryday, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush. “Although lawyers receive a modicum of expressive latitude in pleading the claim of a client, the complaint in this action extends far beyond the outer bound of that latitude.”
The lawsuit named a book and an article by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig that focus on Trump’s finances and his pre-presidency role in “The Apprentice.” Trump claimed the reporters “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” that television producer Mark Burnett created Trump’s celebrity status, “even though at and prior to the time of publications defendants knew that President Trump was already a mega-celebrity and an enormous success in business.”
The suit also targeted claims made about Trump’s early business dealings and his father, Fred Trump.
Additionally, Trump cited an October 20 article by Peter Baker titled, “For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment.” He also sued Michael S. Schmidt over a piece published two days later featuring an interview with Trump’s first-term chief of staff, John Kelly, headlined, “As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator.”
Trump has also filed lawsuits against ABC News and CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” both of which were settled out of court by the respective parent companies. In July, he sued The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch after the newspaper published a story about his ties to wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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