A federal judge on Friday tossed out Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over its content, calling it a “decidedly improper” effort to attack an adversary.
A federal judge in Florida threw out President Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times on Friday, saying the complaint his attorneys filed earlier this week against the newspaper is too long and needs to be truncated to be considered.
“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner,” Judge Steven Merryday, an appointee of former President George H. W. Bush, wrote in the order, saying his court was not a venue for Trump to “rage against an adversary.”
A complaint should “fairly, precisely, directly, soberly, and economically inform the defendants … of the nature and content of the claims,” Merryday wrote. “A complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective – not a protected platform to rage against an adversary.”
Merryday gave Trump 28 days to file an amended complaint of no more than 40 pages.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the paper of being a virtual “mouthpiece” for the Democrat Party and making an illegal “campaign contribution” in 2024 to opponent Kamala Harris.
Trump announced the lawsuit late Monday on Truth Social and said it would be brought in Florida. This marks yet another legal action taken by the president against a major media organization after forcing settlements with ABC News and CBS News over the past year.
“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,” he wrote. “Their Endorsement of Kamala Harris was actually put dead center on the front page of The New York Times, something heretofore UNHEARD OF!”
