Judge Shreds Trump’s NYT Lawsuit for Lacking “Legitimate Legal Claims”
A federal judge struck President Donald Trump’s complaint against The New York Times Friday, dismissing the suit as just angry ramblings.
According to the clearly frustrated Judge Steven Merryday, the 85-page complaint filed by Trump’s legal team was, essentially, a pile of garbage.
“A complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective—not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” the judge wrote. “A complaint is 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.”
Merryday’s striking of Trump’s complaint isn’t a commentary on the suit’s merits; rather, Merryday’s decision is a statement that long-winded gripes, repetitive and superfluous praises of the president, and an extensive list of Trump’s properties and media appearances have no place in a legal complaint. In 85 pages, only two counts of defamation are alleged.
Trump has 28 days to submit a new complaint—one that is no more than 40 pages long and a “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
Trump’s suit against the Times claims that the paper and its reporters defamed him during the 2024 election, resulting in “enormous” economic losses and damaging his “professional and occupational interests.”
In response, a Times spokesperson said that the lawsuit is meritless and “lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting.”
“The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics,” the spokesperson said.