President Donald Trump has refiled his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and several of its reporters after a federal judge dismissed the original suit due to its length, reports The Hill.
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in Florida last month said the 85-page complaint was unnecessarily discursive, loaded with "florid and enervating" prose, and took too long to lodge proper allegations of defamation.
He gave Trump 28 days to refile and amend the action.
"A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner," wrote Merryday at the time.
The new suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleges that the Times defamed Trump leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
"These breaches of journalistic ethics are further proven by the Times' enthusiastic aiding and abetting of the partisan effort to falsely link Russian interference to President Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, which is well on its way to becoming one of the most profoundly disturbing criminal political scandals in American history," the suit reads.
A spokesman for Trump's legal team told news outlets that the president "is continuing to hold the fake news responsible through this powerhouse lawsuit against The New York Times, its reporters, and Penguin Random House."
Trump has filed similar lawsuits against ABC News, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal.
ABC News in December 2024 agreed to pay $15 million, plus $1 million in legal fees, after Trump sued the network for incorrect claims made about the Jean Carroll civil case.
CBS' parent company, Paramount Global, settled with Trump for $16 million in July 2025 after the president accused the network of favorably editing an interview with then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris to help her chances in the 2024 election.
The Times in a statement said the lawsuit "has no merit."
"As we said when this was first filed and again after the judge's ruling to strike it: This lawsuit has no merit," a spokesperson for the news outlet said Thursday.
"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."
Reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, and Peter Baker were all named as defendants alongside The New York Times.
Penguin Random House was also named as a defendant in the amended complaint, which published "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success," written by Craig and Buettner.
A spokesperson for Penguin Random House said, "With a second attempt, this lawsuit remains meritless."
"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."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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