Trump Expands $15B Defamation Suit Against NYT

President Trump has filed an updated defamation complaint against The New York Times and Penguin Random House, expanding his argument that reporters disparaged his record as a businessman in articles and a book about him. The new filing, submitted August 27, adds specific claims of inaccuracies to the lawsuit first filed in September 2025, according to The New York Times.

The Amended Complaint

The revised complaint now runs 62 pages — down from the original 85-page filing but up from the 40-page amended complaint filed in October 2025. The suit still seeks $15 billion in damages, the same figure demanded in the original filing. The case, numbered 8:25-cv-02487, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The lawsuit targets the 2024 book “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success” by Times reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, along with two Times articles. Defendants include The New York Times Company, Penguin Random House, Craig, Buettner, and reporter Peter Baker.

Procedural History

The case has been marked by procedural turbulence from the start. Judge Steven Merryday struck down the original complaint sua sponte (on his own motion) for standing “unmistakably and inexcusably athwart the requirements of Rule 8,” a blunt rebuke of the document’s structure and clarity. Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito — who also represented the president in lawsuits against ABC News and The Wall Street Journal — was forced to substantially revise the filing.

The original 85-page complaint included Trump’s full professional history, with references to appearances on Wrestlemania V, All My Children, and The Nanny, plus praise for “President Trump’s transcendent ability to defy wrongful conventions.” The revised version dropped reporter Michael S. Schmidt as a defendant and narrowed the case.

The Legal Strategy

The amended complaint attempts to establish “actual malice” — the high legal bar required for public figures under the landmark Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) — by pointing to the source of Trump’s leaked tax returns. Trump’s lawyers argue that Craig and Buettner “purposefully avoided the truth by failing to independently verify whether the documents that Charles Littlejohn provided them with, and upon which they relied for the challenged statements in the Book, were legitimate, accurate copies of President Trump’s tax returns.”

Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor, was charged with unlawfully stealing and disclosing Trump’s tax returns on September 29, 2023. Trump has separately sued the IRS seeking billions in recompense.

However, as Above the Law noted, this creates a tension with Trump’s own claims against the IRS: “Either the returns were real, in which case the Times had every reason to rely on them. Or they weren’t, and Trump and Brito just filed a fraudulent lawsuit against the IRS.”

The amended complaint also argues it is defamatory to report that “Trump’s desk showed no signs of real work—no computer, contracts, or files. It was just smothered by newspaper and magazine articles focused on one subject: himself.”

Defense Response

The New York Times has maintained that the lawsuit “has no merit” and is “an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting.” The paper said it “will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.” Penguin Random House called the lawsuit meritless and stood by the book and its authors.

The defendants filed motions to dismiss on December 15, 2025, challenging both the claims and the venue. A mediator, Joseph H. Varner III, was appointed on March 23, 2026, though no settlement has been confirmed. As The Guardian reported, the case centers on claims that the Times reporting was “specifically designed to try and damage Mr. Trump’s business, personal and political reputation.”

Broader Context

This lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of Trump using litigation against media organizations. He has previously sued ABC News (settled for $15 million), CBS, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The Washington Post, among others. In 2021, Trump sued the Times over tax records obtained by his niece Mary Trump — a case that was dismissed, with Trump ordered to pay $392,638.69 in legal fees.

What’s Next

The next major legal checkpoint is the ruling on the defendants’ motions to dismiss. If the court grants the Rule 12 motion, some or all claims could end before discovery expands. If denied, the parties may fight over evidence, depositions, and summary judgment. The venue issue is also pending, with defendants seeking dismissal or transfer to the Southern District of Florida.

Legal observers will be watching closely to see whether the amended filing satisfies Judge Merryday’s procedural requirements or faces further challenges from the bench. As Political Wire summarized, the new filing adds specific claims of inaccuracies while maintaining the $15 billion damages demand — a figure that remains among the largest sought in any defamation case against a major media organization in recent U.S. legal history.