On Monday, US President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the New York Times, four journalists, and Penguin Random House, seeking at least $15 billion for defamation and libel, citing reputational harm, according to a Florida court document.
The lawsuit references several New York Times articles, including an editorial before the 2024 presidential election, which questioned his suitability for office, as well as a 2024 Penguin-published book titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.”
“Defendants knowingly published the Book and Articles filled with malicious distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” the filing in the US District Court, Middle District Florida, states.
The New York Times and Penguin have not yet responded to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
The publications allegedly damaged Trump’s business and personal reputation, resulting in significant economic harm to his brand value and future financial prospects, according to Trump’s attorneys.
“The decline in TMTG (Trump Media and Technology Group) stock value exemplifies the damage caused by Defendants’ defamation,” his lawyers noted, pointing to a sharp drop in stock prices.
TMTG stock has faced pressure recently due to concerns over the end of a lock-up period following its stock market launch in March.
This filing follows Trump’s recent threat to sue the New York Times over an article about an allegedly inappropriate note and drawing given to Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, a disgraced financier and sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019.
Trump has stated he separated from Epstein before his legal issues became public in 2006.
“Today, I am honored to file a $15 Billion Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times,” Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday.
In his post, Trump accused the newspaper of lying about him, his family, and businesses, as well as Republican-led movements like the America First Movement and Make America Great Again (MAGA).
In his second term, Trump has increased his legal actions against media outlets. Earlier this year, he sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, for at least $10 billion over a report linking him to a 2003 birthday greeting for Epstein.
In July, CBS’s parent company Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump claiming deceptive editing of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris on the CBS program “60 Minutes.”
