By Bryony Gooch

Copyright independent

Donald Trump is bringing a $15bn defamation and libel lawsuit against the New York Times, which he has described as “one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country.”

In a post on Truth Social, the president accused the newspaper of being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party as he criticised its endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race as “the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER”.

He continued that The Times had lied about him, his family, his business, the America First Movement, the MAGA movement, and “our Nation as a whole” in the lawsuit against the paper and four of its journalists.

The lawsuit comes less than a week after The Times said it had been threatened with legal action by the White House, following reporting on a crude birthday note given to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which bears Trump’s signature. However, the president has denied being its author.

But as well as recent reporting on Trump’s links to Epstein, the 174-year-old newspaper has rarely held back when it comes to reporting on the president’s financial dealings, his alleged ties to Russia, as well as turmoil in his administration.

While Trump accuses the newspaper of a “decades-long pattern” of “intentional and malicious defamation” against him, court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Florida name several articles and one book written in 2024 by two of the publication’s journalists that have come under scrutiny.

“Defendants maliciously published the Book and the Articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” according to the filing lodged on Monday.

Trump took particular issue with theTimes for its front page editorial endorsement of Harris in September last year, titled “The Only Patriotic Choice for President”, which said “[i]t is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump”, adding that Trump would “defy the norms and dismantle the institutions that have made our country strong.”

Other articles cited in the court documents include opinion pieces that Trump’s lawyers allege “called for the Senate to retire the filibuster for the purpose of ramming through radical legislation designed to undermine election integrity,” characterized the Constitution as broken and dangerous, and “proposed ‘pack[ing] the Union with new states’ to guarantee its amendment.”

Later on Monday, the newspaper issued a response to the suit.

“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,” the statement read.

A book published by Penguin titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success, written by two Times journalists, was also criticised as trying to damage Trump’s business and personal reputation, inflicting significant economic harm on his brand value and significantly affecting his future financial prospects.

“The harm to the value of TMTG (Trump Media and Technology Group) stock is one example of how the defendants’ defamation has injured President Trump,” said his lawyers, citing “a precipitous decline in the stock price.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has taken legal action against the media since becoming president. In his Truth Social post, he stated that he was holding the “Fake News Networks” responsible, citing “successful litigation against George Slopadopoulos/ABC/Disney, and 60 Minutes/CBS/Paramount.”

Lawsuits against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos, as well as the CBS news program 60 Minutes for its interview with Kamala Harris, were settled respectively for $15 million and $16 million.

In July, he launched legal action against the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal after it first reported the existence of a note featuring Trump’s signature, which was allegedly given to Epstein. The case is expected in court soon and represents a risk to Trump if more evidence relevant to the case could be made public.

The lawsuit against The Times was filed the same day a cadre of senior White House figures, including Deputy Chief of Staff Steven Miller and Vice President J.D. Vance, called for vengeance on the left, in the wake of the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.