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President Donald Trump has refiled his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times after a federal judge dismissed the original version because it was too long.
The amended complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, accuses the Times of defamation over two articles published in 2024 and a book released last year by two of its reporters. President Trump is seeking $15 billion in damages plus punitive damages.
“President Trump is continuing to hold the Fake News responsible through this powerhouse lawsuit against the New York Times, its reporters, and Penguin Random House,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The defendants include The New York Times Company, reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, and Penguin Random House, publisher of “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” written by Craig and Buettner.
A spokesperson for the Times said, “As we said when this was first filed and again after the judge’s ruling to strike it: this lawsuit has no merit. Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”
Last month, a federal judge ordered President Trump’s legal team to shorten the original 85-page filing to no more than 40 pages and gave them 28 days to refile. The amended complaint is 40 pages.
The revised lawsuit focuses on reporting about President Trump’s time hosting “The Apprentice” and allegations that he engaged in questionable tax practices.
The filing is the latest in a series of defamation lawsuits the president has brought against major media outlets, including ABC News, CBS News and The Wall Street Journal.
President Trump has already secured eight-figure settlements from ABC and CBS. ABC agreed in December to pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a future presidential museum or foundation to settle a lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly saying the president had been held liable for rape rather than sexual abuse. ABC also paid $1 million in legal fees.
The president also sued CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the network of “election interference” through deceptive editing. Parent company Paramount settled the lawsuit in July for an amount that could reach $30 million.