Donald Trump announced Monday that he has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, intensifying his long-running feud with the newspaper.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times, one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country, becoming a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party. I view it as the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER.”
Trump accused the newspaper of engaging in a “decades long method of lying” about him, his family, and the “America First Movement.” He added that the suit was being filed in Florida and compared it to other legal battles, claiming he had secured favorable settlements in past cases against ABC, CBS, and other outlets.
The announcement followed nearly a week of tension between Trump and the paper over coverage of a sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. The note was released by the House Oversight Committee as part of a batch of Epstein-related documents.
The Times reported that the signature on the note — the name “Donald,” with a long flourish — closely resembled handwriting samples from Trump dating back to the late 1980s. Trump and his aides have denied he had any role in creating the note, calling it a fabrication.
According to The Times, Edward Paltzik, a lawyer for Trump, sent a letter to the paper demanding a retraction and apology, citing the recent article and a July story about Trump’s habit of making thick black-marker sketches. Paltzik warned that litigation could follow.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, responded in a statement published Wednesday: “Our journalists reported the facts, provided the visual evidence and printed the president’s denial. It’s all there for the American people to see and to make up their own minds about. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
This is not the first time the president has gone into battle with The New York Times. According to the Associated Press, Trump was ordered in 2024 to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to the paper and three investigative reporters after suing them over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 investigation into his family’s finances.
Judge Robert Reed dismissed The Times and its reporters from that lawsuit, ruling that newsgathering was “at the very core of protected First Amendment activity.”
The Times’ 2018 reporting challenged Trump’s claims of self-made wealth by documenting how his father, Fred Trump, had transferred at least $413 million to him over the decades, including through tax avoidance schemes. According to The Times, the reporting was based on more than 100,000 pages of financial records.
The Epstein note also remains at the center of another lawsuit Trump filed in July against the Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, after the paper was the first to report on its existence.
Trump concluded his Truth Social post Monday by vowing to “hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible” and declaring, “That stops, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The post Trump announces $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times appeared first on KTLA.
