President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times will move forward for now after a federal judge declined the newspaper’s latest effort to have the case dismissed.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday ordered Trump’s legal team to file an amended version of the complaint by Aug. 27, according to Forbes. The judge did not explain why revisions were necessary but gave The New York Times three weeks to respond after the updated filing is submitted.
The ruling marks another procedural step in a lawsuit Trump first filed in September, alleging that the newspaper engaged in a long-running campaign of defamatory reporting against him.
Shortly after the original complaint was filed, Merryday directed Trump’s attorneys to streamline portions of the lawsuit before allowing the case to proceed. The newspaper later sought to have the suit dismissed entirely, but the latest order means Trump’s legal team will have the opportunity to revise its claims rather than see the case thrown out.
Trump celebrated the ruling in a post on Truth Social.
“The Failing New York Times, after 10 years of harassment, slander, and libel, just failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped,” Trump wrote.
He said the amended complaint would provide additional detail supporting the allegations.
“As we requested, the Highly Respected Judge has called for an updated complaint, which will lay out, in extreme detail, all the ways in which The Times has repeatedly and consistently acted, with actual malice in defaming me, my family, our Great MAGA Movement, and America, itself,” Trump wrote.
He added that his legal team intends to continue pursuing claims against major media organizations.
“We will continue to hold The Times and their ‘comrades’ in the Mainstream Media accountable for publishing, promoting, and dealing in Fake News,” Trump wrote.
In the original lawsuit, Trump alleged that The New York Times played a significant role in influencing public opinion during the 2024 presidential election through what he described as false and defamatory reporting.
The complaint argued that Trump prevailed despite what it called “persistent election interference from the legacy media led most notoriously by The New York Times.”
“All across our country, Americans from a wide array of backgrounds saw the truth about him and voted accordingly—the same truth that the New York Times refused to recognize as it continued spreading false and defamatory content about President Trump,” the lawsuit states.
The filing also alleges that the newspaper sought to damage Trump’s business reputation, undermine his presidential campaign, and influence legal proceedings involving Trump, his family, and his companies.
“Defendants’ pre-election goal was to kill three birds with one stone: (a) damage President Trump’s hard-earned and world-renowned reputation for business success, (b) in the process, sabotage his 2024 candidacy for President of the United States, and (c) prejudice judges and juries in the unlawful cases brought against President Trump, his family, and his businesses by his political opponents for purposes of election interference,” the complaint says.
When announcing the lawsuit last year, Trump sharply criticized the newspaper, calling it “one of the worst and most degenerate newspapers in the History of our Country” and accusing it of acting as a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party.
He also argued that the newspaper’s reporting had targeted him for years.
“The ‘Times’ has engaged in a decades long method of lying about your Favorite President (ME!), my family, business, the America First Movement, MAGA, and our Nation as a whole. I am PROUD to hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible,” Trump wrote.
Trump also pointed to previous legal settlements involving other media organizations. ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation or museum to resolve a defamation lawsuit, while CBS and Paramount Global later reached a separate $30 million settlement related to litigation over a 60 Minutes interview. Neither settlement included an admission of wrongdoing.
“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” Trump wrote. “The suit is being brought in the Great State of Florida. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The amended complaint is expected to provide a more detailed presentation of Trump’s allegations before the court determines the next stage of the litigation.
