U.S. President Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for $15 billion, alleging that the newspaper is a “mouthpiece” of the Democrats and has been pursuing a decade-long “campaign of lies” against him.
On Truth Social, President Trump penned: “Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a 15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times, one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country, becoming a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.”
Trump alleged that the New York Times gave Kamala Harris its endorsement, which he alleged was made visible on the front page of the paper, “the single largest illegal Campaign contribution, EVER.” He charged the paper with publishing lies about him, his family, and his business, as well as the America First movement.
He states, “The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW! The suit is being brought in the Great State of Florida.”
What he termed as previous litigation that has been successful against media houses such as ABC, CBS, and Disney was also cited by President Trump.
Legal litigation with media houses
The litigation against the New York Times follows a series of recent high-profile lawsuits against large US broadcasters that President Trump has undertaken. In January of this year, ABC News agreed to pay the president’s planned library a sum of $15 million to resolve a defamation case.
That case arose after on-air statements by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who, at the time, reportedly claimed that Trump had been found guilty of rape in the E. Jean Carroll case. Following the broadcast, the network added an editor’s note expressing regret over the matter and paid another $1 million in legal expenses.
The parent company of CBS, Paramount Global, also settled a lawsuit in which Trump filed a suit over an allegedly edited interview with his then-opponent, Kamala Harris, that aired on 60 Minutes. The company settled on a deal to pay $16 million, but this time, the money was to be allocated to the library initiative of President Trump.
The legal team of President Trump said, “a win for the American people.” They added that it is evidence of mass misconduct by mainstream media against President Trump. The two settlements were both hit in federal courts and evaded what could have been harmful depositions.
