(New York) The President of the United States, Donald Trump, accuses the New York Times And four of his journalists to have defamed it shortly before the 2024 elections, saying that a series of articles aimed to harm his candidacy and to discredit his reputation as a prosperous businessman.
In a prosecution filed on Monday in Federal Court in Florida, Mr. Trump alleges that the articles and a book published by two of the journalists were “specifically designed to try to harm the commercial, personal and political reputation of President Trump”.
According to the introductory request for instance, the articles and the book were published with a “real malice” with regard to Mr. Trump and caused “considerable” economic losses to his “professional and commercial interests”. He claims damages of at least $ 15 billion.
Photo Luis M. Alvarez, Associated Press
Donald Trump aboard the presidential plane at the Andrews military base, in the suburbs of Washington on Tuesday
The defendants are The New York Times Co., the journalists Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, as well as Penguin Random House, publisher of the book signed by Mme Craig and M. Buettner.
The prosecution alleges that the defendants have scheduled the publication of articles and books “at the height of the electoral campaign in order to cause maximum electoral damage to President Trump”.
Response from New York Times
“This complaint is baseless. It is not based on any legitimate legal basis and is rather an attempt aimed at stifling and discouraging independent journalism, “replied a spokesperson for the newspaper. ” THE New York Times will not be intimidated. We will continue to seek the truth without fear or favoritism and to defend the right of journalists, guaranteed by the first amendment, to ask questions in the name of the American people. »»
In a note addressed to staff, the publisher of TimeAG Sulzberger, described the pursuit of “frivolous”, adding that “everyone, whatever their political opinion, should be concerned about the anti-press campaign led by President Trump and his administration”.
A Penguin Random House spokesman said: “It is a baseless legal action. Penguin Random House supports the book and its authors and will continue to defend the values of the first amendment which are fundamental for our role as book editor. »»
This trial is the last in a series of legal actions undertaken by Trump against media. He brought a trial for the assembly of a report broadcast in the program 60 minutes From CBS News, which ended in July with an amicable agreement of $ 16 million with the parent company of the network, Paramount.
Last year, ABC News agreed to pay amicably a defamation complaint filed by Mr. Trump for $ 15 million, plus $ 1 million for his legal costs, following remarks made in an interview by the presenter George Stephanopoulos.
Trump also continued the Wall Street Journal In July for an article claiming that he had sent an inconceivating birthday message to the fallen financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to continue the Timeespecially this month for articles related to the message and drawing with sexual connotation sent to Mr. Epstein and which seem to have been signed by him. Mr. Trump denied being the author of this note. The complaint he filed on Monday did not concern any of these articles.
Articles and books in the president’s sights of the president
As part of the trial, Mr. Trump’s lawyers cited three articles from Time Who, according to him, were part of “a series of lies and defamations”.
The first article is adapted from the book of Mme Craig and M. Buettner, Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success (Lucky loser: how Donald Trump dilapidated his father’s fortune and created the illusion of success). The article told how the producers of Trump’s reality TV show, The Apprenticehave helped to feed its ascent towards the presidency.
The complaint also targets anecdotes from Lucky Loser And a book published by the President’s niece, Mary L. Trump, who appeared in an article by Mr. Baker dating from October 2024 to the fact that no presidential candidate for a great party has been accused of reprehensible acts as many times. (Another legal action brought by Mr. Trump against his niece is in progress.)
The complaint also mentions another article published in October by Mr. Schmidt, based on interviews with John F. Kelly, former general of the US Marines and one of Trump’s chiefs of cabinet during his first mandate. In this article, Mr. Kelly warned that Mr. Trump could govern as a dictator if he was re -elected, and he confirmed a previous article according to which Mr. Trump had called the American soldiers who died in the fight of sucks (turkey) and “losers”. Mr. Trump denied having made these words.
The prosecution also criticizes the support provided to Kamala Harris by the editorial committee of the Time In September 2024, calling it “disturbed” and criticizing the arguments of the editorial committee.
Mr. Trump has already continued the Time In justice, without success.
A history of prosecution
In 2021, Trump continued the newspaper for a series of articles investigating his finances and tax declarations. (Journalists mme Craig and Mr. Buettner were the authors.) The trial was rejected in 2023, Mr. Trump being ordered to pay the legal costs of Time.
In addition, in 2020, his re -election campaign brought a defamation trial about an essay published in the opinion section entitled The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro quo (The real Trump-Russia exchange). The prosecution was rejected in 2021.
The complaint filed on Monday attacks several times in the book of Mme Craig and M. Buettner. She claims that the book tries to tarnish one of Mr. Trump’s “best known success” as a reality show.
According to the complaint, the book wrongly claims that Mark Burnett, the executive producer of The Apprenticediscovered Mr. Trump and made a celebrity of it. The complaint indicates that he was already “a megacelébrité and an extremely prosperous businessman” when he participated in the show.
In order to prove “maliciousness” with regard to Mr. Trump, the judicial document cites more than a dozen articles from Time Going up to her first mandate, which, according to her, “depict him in a malicious and false way as a dishonest man, undermines the confidence of the public towards him and discredit his achievements”.
“Proud” to continue the Time
The complaint also claims that the defendants “hate President Trump without reason disturbed”.
In a message published Monday evening on social networks, Trump said he was “proud” to hold the Time Responsible for decades of lies about him, about his family and business. He spoke of the success of his other legal proceedings, mentioning the agreements concluded with Paramount and ABC.
The case was entrusted to judge Steven D. Merryday, appointed by former president George HW Bush.
This article was published in the New York Times.
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