On October 17, 2025, President Trump once again filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, seeking $15 billion in damages plus punitive damages.
The lawsuit was refiled in the Central District of Tampa, Florida, as requested by the court to reduce the original 85-page complaint to 40 pages. Last month, a federal judge ordered Trump’s team to revise and shorten the original complaint and resubmit it within 28 days.
The amended complaint alleges that The New York Times defamed Trump when reporting on his hosting of the reality show “The Apprentice” and allegations of improper tax dealings, damaging his reputation.
Trump also accuses The New York Times and its reporters of making false statements in two articles and a book published in 2024 regarding his relationship with the late sex offender Epstein when reporting about it, alleging defamation.
The defendants named in the lawsuit include The New York Times Company, journalists Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, and the publisher Penguin Random House of the book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success” written by Craig and Buettner.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team stated, “President Trump will continue to hold accountable fake news through this strong lawsuit against The New York Times, its reporters, and Penguin Random House.”
A spokesperson for The New York Times responded, dismissing the lawsuit as baseless and suggesting it was an attempt to suppress independent reporting and create a public relations spectacle to attract media attention and influence public opinion or increase exposure.
Penguin Random House has not yet commented on the matter.
Previously, Trump filed lawsuits against ABC News, CBS News, and The Wall Street Journal and reached settlements with ABC and CBS in the past year, receiving substantial compensation.
In December of last year, ABC agreed to pay $15 million as a charitable donation for the future Trump Presidential Library or Foundation to settle a defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit stemmed from ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly falsely stating on the show that Trump had been convicted of rape, not sexual assault, damaging his reputation.
ABC also paid $1 million in legal fees.
Last year, Trump filed an “election interference” lawsuit against CBS, alleging that the editing decisions on the program “60 Minutes” misled the public by airing interviews that favored then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
CBS’s parent company Paramount reached a settlement with Trump in July, agreeing to pay $16 million to the future Trump Presidential Library without directly or indirectly compensating the President personally.
(References have been made to reporting by Fox News)