A US judge on Friday struck down Donald Trump’s $15bn lawsuit against the New York Times newspaper and some of its individual journalists. The judge gave the US president leave to amend the action, however, a court filing showed.
The judge in the case said that Trump’s complaint violated a federal rule requiring “a short plain statement” of the claim in an attempt to demonstrate that the plaintiff deserves relief.
Trump launched the massive lawsuit earlier this week accusing the major US publication of being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic party and of “spreading false and defamatory content” about him.
On Friday the court said such a complaint is not a public forum “for vituperation and invective” or a protected platform “to rage against an adversary”.
The filing against the Times, the latest demonstration of the president’s willingness to use legal action against the media, was made by Trump’s lawyers to a district court in Florida on Monday night.
It names several articles and one book written by two of the publication’s journalists and published in the lead-up to the 2024 election.
“The Times has betrayed the journalistic ideals of honesty, objectivity, and accuracy that it once professed,” it states, also accusing the Times of being “a leading, and unapologetic, purveyor of falsehoods against President Trump”.
Reuters contributed reporting.
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