President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will sue The New York Times for $15 billion, claiming defamation and libel and accusing the outlet of being a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party.
Trump threatened to sue The Times last week after it published articles about a sexually suggestive note and drawing given to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003, which appears to have been signed by Trump. Trump and his advisers have denied that they were involved in the creation of the note.
In an overnight post on his social media platform, Truth Social, the president accused the Times of making false statements about him, his family, and his businesses, but did not elaborate.
“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times,” Donald Trump wrote on Twitter.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that must end NOW!” he added, citing the Times’ endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of high-profile legal challenges launched by Trump against major media outlets in what he describes as a larger effort to “restore integrity to journalism.”
Trump stated that the lawsuit would be filed in Florida, but did not provide any additional information.
CNN contacted The New York Times for comment.
In a complaint filed in a Tampa federal court, Trump’s attorneys accused The Times of a deliberate pattern of “false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging” reporting aimed at undermining Trump’s presidential campaign and legacy.
The filing cites previous lawsuits filed by Trump’s lawyers against Disney’s ABC News and Paramount Global’s CBS News, which resulted in multimillion-dollar payouts and public admissions of errors in their reporting.
It also mentioned a lawsuit filed in July against The Wall Street Journal and reporters who wrote about the collection of letters given to Epstein. A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the Journal’s parent company, stated at the time, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
In the most recent lawsuit against The Times, Trump’s lawyers claim the “reputational injury inflicted in this case reaches billions of dollars” and confirm they are seeking at least $15 billion in damages.
