On Monday, former U.S. President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit worth $15 billion against The New York Times and four of its journalists, according to reports from Associated Press on Tuesday, based on court documents.
The lawsuit, submitted to a U.S. District Court in Florida, highlights several articles and a book authored by two of the newspaper’s reporters that were published in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. Trump alleges that these publications reflect a long-standing pattern of intentional and malicious defamation by The New York Times against him.
The legal papers asserted, “The defendants published these statements with reckless disregard for their truth, fully aware of their falsity or neglecting the truth or falsity, or both.”
As of Tuesday morning, The New York Times had not responded to an email requesting a comment.
On his platform, Truth Social, Trump stated: “The paper has effectively become the spokesperson for the radical left Democratic Party,” further claiming that it has engaged in a decades-long campaign of dishonesty regarding him, his family, his business, and the “Make America Great Again” movement.
He added, “The New York Times has long been allowed to lie about me, distort the truth, and defame me, but that will now come to an end.”