Trump files US$15-billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

A sign for The New York Times hangs above the entrance to its building, May 6, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump has added The New York Times to the list of media companies he’s challenged in court, filing a US$15 billion defamation lawsuit that targets four of its journalists in a book and three articles published within a two-month period before the last election.

In a Truth Social post announcing the lawsuit early Tuesday, Trump called the Times “one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the nation’s history” and a virtual mouthpiece for Democrats. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Florida.

The Times called the lawsuit meritless and an attempt to discourage independent reporting. “The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said.

It follows lawsuits Trump has filed against ABC News and CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” both of which were settled out of court by the news organizations’ parent companies. Trump also sued The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch in July after the newspaper published a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The lawsuit names a book and an article written by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig that focuses on Trump’s finances and his pre-presidency starring role in television’s “The Apprentice.”

Trump sparred with a pair of reporters on Tuesday before he and first lady Melania Trump departed for a state visit to the United Kingdom. He told one of the journalists he has a “lot of hate” in his heart.

Trump said in the lawsuit they “maliciously peddled the fact-free narrative” that television producer Mark Burnett turned Trump into a celebrity -- “even though at and prior to the time of publications defendants knew that President Trump was already a mega-celebrity and an enormous success in business.” The 85-page lawsuit also attacks claims the reporters made about Trump’s early business dealings and his father, Fred.

Trump also cites an article by Peter Baker last Oct. 20 headlined “For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment.” He also sues Michael S. Schmidt for a piece two days later featuring an interview with Trump’s first-term chief of staff, John Kelly, headlined “As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator.”

In the lawsuit, Trump claimed The Times “could not accept President Trump’s win in 2016 and could not fathom his winning again in a landslide.” It wasn’t a part of the case, but Trump attacked the newspaper’s “deranged” editorial endorsement of opponent Kamala Harris last year.

“The `Times’ has engaged in 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,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I am PROUD to hold this once-respected `rag’ responsible.”

None of Trump’s media lawsuits have made it to court, but in court papers he claimed the settlements with ABC and CBS as part of his “successful undertaking to restore integrity to journalism.”

The president has also been involved in a lawsuit by The Associated Press over restricting the news organization’s access to cover him in retaliation for its decision not to follow his executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The Times’ Stadtlander said that the news organization “will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”

Penguin Random House, publisher of Buettner and Craig’s book, “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” said it stands by the book and its authors.

Answering questions from the news media Tuesday as he departed the White House for a trip to London, Trump seemed miffed when an Australian Broadcasting Corp. reporter asked about his level of business activity since his return to office. Trump replied, ‘You’re hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me."

He said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be visiting him at the White House soon and “I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”

When the reporter continued to ask questions in a loud voice, Trump hushed him by saying, “quiet” and turned to Jonathan Karl of ABC News for a “nicer tone.”

But Trump also lit into Karl, too. The two men have known each other for many years.

Karl asked about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s comments that she will go after hate speech after the killing of influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Karl said even some of the president’s allies consider hate speech to be free speech, and therefore protected by the Constitution.

Trump responded by telling Karl the administration would “probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly, it’s hate. You have a lot of hate in your heart.”

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

David Bauder, The Associated Press