President Donald Trump updated his defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and the publisher Penguin Random House on Thursday, expanding his argument that several reporters had disparaged his record as a businessman in articles and a book about him, The New York Times reported.
The new filing adds specific claims of inaccuracy to a lawsuit Trump first brought last September over the reporting and the book, which was written by two Times journalists. His lawyers argued at the time that the coverage was designed to damage his business, personal and political reputation ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, and sought $15 billion in damages.
Judge Steven D. Merryday of the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed the original complaint just four days after it was filed, calling it unnecessarily lengthy and digressive. Trump refiled the suit in October.
The Times has moved to dismiss
The Times has defended the accuracy of its reporting and moved to dismiss the refiled suit, arguing that Trump had failed to identify false or defamatory statements or to specify what he considered the truth to be. The paper also argued the complaint did not establish that its reporters acted with "actual malice," the legal standard requiring that a statement was published knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth, according to The New York Times.
Judge Merryday gave Trump time to amend his complaint last month, deferring a ruling on The Times's motion to dismiss.
The latest filing, a second amended complaint, expands on Trump's claims about the accuracy of specific statements in the book and articles, adding further context to the passages he disputes. It also seeks to build a more detailed case that the reporters acted with actual malice.
Named defendants and reactions
Trump named The Times and reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Peter Baker as defendants, along with Penguin Random House. Craig and Buettner wrote the book about Trump for the publisher.
A Times spokesman, Charlie Stadtlander, said the lawsuit should be dismissed, noting that Trump had been given three opportunities to amend his claims and calling the suit "obviously meritless." A spokeswoman for Penguin Random House pointed to the publisher's earlier comments describing the suit as meritless and saying it stood by the book and its authors.
Trump has brought legal action against The Times before. He sued the paper in 2021 over an investigation into his finances, a case that was later dismissed, and his re-election campaign separately sued The Times in 2020 over a 2019 opinion essay, a suit that was also dismissed.
Source: The New York Times
