Trump refiles $15B New York Times defamation lawsuit
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The New York Times building on Sept. 16 in New York City. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
President Trump re-filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times on Thursday after the original complaint was dismissed for being unnecessarily long.
Why it matters: The New York Times lawsuit is one of several legal battles involving the president and media organizations — some of which chose to reach multi-million dollar settlements with Trump.
Driving the news: Trump's lawyers allege that published articles and a book sought to undermine his reputation.
- Last month, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday for the Middle District of Florida gave the president's legal team 28 days to refile the case and trim the complaint from 85 pages to no more than 40 pages.
Zoom in: The new complaint sues three, instead of four, reporters for articles and a book written about the president.
- The defendants are Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, the New York Times and Penguin Random House. Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt is no longer a defendant.
What they're saying: "Defendants individually and collectively published numerous false, malicious and defamatory statements while realizing that these statements were false, or at a minimum, with reckless disregard for the truth," the complaint said.
- Trump's attorneys demanded a jury trial.
The other side: "As we said when this was first filed and again after the judge's ruling to strike it: this lawsuit has no merit," a New York Times spokesperson said.
- "Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics."
- "With a second attempt, this lawsuit remains meritless, a Penguin Random House spokesperson said. "Penguin Random House will continue to stand by the book and its authors just as we will continue to stand for the important fundamental principles of the First Amendment."
Behind the scenes: Times executive editor Joe Kahn told Axios last month that the president misunderstands the protections offered to media organizations under libel law.
- "Well he's wrong on the facts," Kahn said. "He's wrong on the law and we'll fight it, and we'll win,"
Go deeper: Exclusive: Trump "wrong on the facts" in $15 billion defamation suit, NYT editor says
Editor's note: This story was updated with a statement from Penguin Random House.
