US President Donald Trump has refiled his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, weeks after a federal judge dismissed the original case for being overly long and filled with exaggerated language.
The renewed filing marks the latest step in Trump’s ongoing battle with media outlets he accuses of bias and misinformation.
According to court documents seen by AFP, the new lawsuit — filed Thursday, October 16, in Florida — spans 40 pages, less than half the length of the previous 85-page version that Judge Steven Merryday dismissed in September. The judge had criticised the initial complaint for its “florid writing,” repetitiveness, and unnecessary length.
The latest suit targets what Trump describes as “false, defamatory, and malicious publications,” including two New York Times articles and a book published by Penguin Random House. It names the newspaper, three of its reporters, and the publishing house as defendants.
Trump’s lawyers argue that the publications “wrongly defame and disparage President Trump’s hard-earned professional reputation, which he painstakingly built for decades” before entering public office. The complaint accuses the defendants of acting “with actual malice,” a central element required under US defamation law.
The lawsuit seeks at least $15 billion in compensatory damages, along with additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”
Trump’s legal team has portrayed the case as part of a broader effort to combat what they call “media corruption and political persecution.” The president has long attacked major news organisations — including The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post — as “fake news,” accusing them of unfair and politically motivated reporting.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has filed several defamation suits. In July 2025, he sued Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for $10 billion, claiming its reporting falsely linked him to a letter allegedly sent to convicted s3x offender Jeffrey Epstein.
That same month, Trump reached a $16 million settlement with Paramount Global over a segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes, which he said had been deceptively edited to favour his 2024 election opponent, Kamala Harris.
While critics see Trump’s lawsuits as attempts to intimidate journalists, his supporters argue they are efforts to hold media outlets accountable for spreading politically charged misinformation.
The New York Times has not yet issued a public response to the latest filing.
