Topline
President Donald Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times was thrown out Friday, with a federal judge finding the complaint to be too long for the two counts of defamation it sought to prove.
District Judge Steven Merryday wrote the lawsuit “stands unmistakably and inexcusably athwart the requirements of Rule 8,” which calls for complaints to have “simple, concise, and direct” allegations that offer a “short and plain statement of the claim.”
The lawsuit, which is 85 pages in length, alleges one count of defamation on page 80 and another count on page 83, Merryday wrote, noting, “Even under the most generous and lenient application of Rule 8, the complaint is decidedly improper and impermissible.”
The judge said the reader of the complaint must “labor through” and “endure” multiple allegations, one of which claimed the president’s old reality TV show “The Apprentice,” portrayed “the cultural magnitude of President Trump’s singular brilliance, which captured the [Z]eitgeist of our time.”
Merryday said the claim about “The Apprentice” was “one of many, often repetitive, and laudatory (toward President Trump) but superfluous allegations.”
Merryday added legal complaints are “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.”
Trump can re-file a lawsuit within 28 days, Merryday wrote, requiring the complaint to be under 40 pages in length.
Forbes has reached out to the White House for comment.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
The Times was accused of making “defamatory” statements about Trump to damage his “world-renowned reputation for business success,” sabotage his presidential candidacy in 2024 and “prejudice” judges and juries in lawsuits brought against him, his family and his businesses. The president’s lawsuit points at three articles and a book, “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” published during the last election cycle.
The Trump administration has targeted the news media through lawsuits, defunding measures and investigations. In May, Republican lawmakers signed a budget rescission package to pull $1.1 billion in funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. In July, Paramount subsidiary CBS News settled a lawsuit from Trump for $16 million after the president claimed it deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The lawsuit was settled several months after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly suggested the complaint could factor into a merger between Paramount and Skydance, which was approved by the FCC weeks after the settlement. Carr, who recently lauded multiple broadcasters’ decisions to pull “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the air for comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Trump supporters, previously threatened to take action against Kimmel, a critic of Trump. Carr told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson broadcasters “have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” adding, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” ABC and broadcasters like Sinclair and Nexstar announced their decisions to remove Kimmel shortly after.
Trump’s War With The Media: Paramount Settles With Trump Over Kamala Harris Interview (Forbes)
ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel ‘Indefinitely’ After Charlie Kirk Comments: Here’s What He Said (Forbes)
Trump Says Licenses Should ‘Maybe’ Be Pulled From Networks He Claims Are Critical Of Him (Forbes)