The US president has cited the reputational damage caused by the newspaper’s coverage of his relationship with Epstein.
Published On 16 Sep 2025
United States President Donald Trump has said he is bringing a $15bn “defamation and libel lawsuit” against The New York Times (NYT) over its coverage of his family and political movement, and cited reputational damage over the newspaper’s reporting regarding his relationship with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday, adding the lawsuit was being lodged in Florida’s district court.
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Trump’s suit cites a series of NYT articles, including an editorial written before the 2024 presidential election, which said he was unfit for office.
NYT made the following statement later on Tuesday: “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
Trump decried the newspaper as a “virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party” and accused it of lying about his “family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole”. He did not provide any evidence for his claims.
US publisher Penguin Random House was also cited in the lawsuit for a book it published in 2024 titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.
“Defendants maliciously published the Book and the Articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” Trump’