Judge strikes down Trump's $15 billion suit against the New York Times

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4. Judge strikes down Trump's $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times

Judge says US president’s complaint that the newspaper is ‘spreading false content’ about him violates federal rule

Judge strikes down Trump’s bn lawsuit against the New York Times

— The Guardian (@theguardian.com) 2025-09-19T16:19:37Z

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/19/trump-nyt-lawsuit-judge-ruling

A US judge on Friday struck down Donald Trump’s $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times newspaper and some of its individual journalists. The judge gave the US president leave to amend the action, however, a court filing showed.

The judge in the case said that Trump’s complaint violated a federal rule requiring “a short plain statement” of the claim in an attempt to demonstrate that the plaintiff deserves relief.

Trump launched the massive lawsuit earlier this week accusing the major US publication of being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic party and of “spreading false and defamatory content” about him.

On Friday the court said such a complaint is not a public forum “for vituperation and invective” or a protected platform “to rage against an adversary”.

The filing against the Times, the latest demonstration of the president’s willingness to use legal action against the media, was made by Trump’s lawyers to a district court in Florida on Monday night.