US President Donald Trump has launched fresh legal action, filing a $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times for defamation and libel.
In a social media post late on Monday, Trump accused the paper of a “decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole.”
He also singled out the Times’ endorsement of Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election, claiming it had become a “virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.”
The lawsuit was filed in Florida, though the New York Times has not yet publicly responded.
Not Trump’s first legal battle with media
This is not the first time Trump has taken media organisations to court. In December last year, ABC settled for $15 million after Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos incorrectly said Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E Jean Carroll.
The settlement also included $1 million in legal fees.
More recently, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a dispute over an interview with Kamala Harris on the US edition of 60 Minutes.
Trump alleged the segment was edited in a way that harmed his re-election campaign. Paramount did not issue an apology but committed to releasing transcripts of future 60 Minutes interviews with presidential candidates.
The Paramount case sparked internal tensions, with Executive Producer Bill Owens resigning earlier this year.
On air, presenter Scott Pelley told viewers: “None of our stories has been blocked. But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires. No one here is happy about it. But in resigning, Bill proved he was the right person to lead 60 Minutes all along.”
Analysts have suggested Paramount’s decision to settle may have been linked to its merger plans with Skydance, which required regulatory approval from the Trump-controlled Federal Communications Commission.
Paramount said in a statement: “Paramount has reached an agreement in principle to resolve the lawsuit filed by President Trump and Representative Jackson in the Northern District of Texas and a threatened defamation action concerning a separate 60 Minutes report.”