Donald Trump on Monday filed a defamation and libel lawsuit against the New York Times, calling it one of the most “degenerate newspapers” in the U.S., days after the newspaper published articles about his alleged ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
The U.S. president accused the newspaper of lying and defamation, calling it a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party.
Trump threatened to sue the NYT last week for its recent coverage related to a sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Epstein.
“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he added.
The NYT has not yet issued a comment on the matter.
Highlighting the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 race, the president said it was “the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER”.
“Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!” he said.
He accused the newspaper of “decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole”.
He pointed to earlier lawsuits filed against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos, as well as against Paramount over its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, noting that both cases were settled for $15m and $16m, respectively.
The lawsuit cites a number of NYT articles, including one editorial published prior to the 2024 presidential election which said he was unfit for the office, and a 2024 book published by Penguin titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success”.
“Defendants maliciously published the Book and the Articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” according to the filing lodged on Monday in the U.S. District Court, Middle District Florida.
In the filing, Trump’s lawyers argued that the publications damaged both his business and personal reputation, inflicting major economic harm on his brand value and significantly affecting his future financial prospects.
“The harm to the value of TMTG (Trump Media and Technology Group) stock is one example of how the defendants’ defamation has injured President Trump,” said his lawyers, citing “a precipitous decline in the stock price.”
Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, died by suicide while awaiting his own trial for sex trafficking. Since then, the billionaire financier’s alleged connections with and influence over multiple high-profile individuals including Prince Andrew, former president Bill Clinton and Trump, have been thrust back into the limelight – with the so-called “Epstein files” becoming a source of multiple conspiracy theories.
Trump campaigned on releasing more information, but then, over the summer, the Department of Justice said no more information would be released. That sparked backlash on both sides of the political aisle.
Trump has said he parted ways with Epstein before the financier’s legal troubles became public in 2006.