President Donald Trump filed a 40-page amended complaint in a U.S. District Court in Florida, reviving his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times (NYT), book publisher Penguin Random House, and three NYT reporters: Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig, and Peter Baker.
The refiling came exactly 28 days after U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday dismissed the original suit on September 19, 2025, for being excessively lengthy and non-compliant with federal pleading rules.
The amended version adheres to Merryday's order limiting it to 40 pages and requiring a "professional and dignified manner."
The suit alleged these publications, released in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, falsely portrayed Trump as building his fortune through fraud, suspect tax maneuvers, and ties to organized crime, thereby sabotaging his campaign and damaging his reputation as a businessman. Trump sought at least $15 billion in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, calling the coverage a "decades-long pattern" of "intentional and malicious defamation."
The original 85-page complaint was criticized for including excessive praise of Trump, unrelated grievances, and political rhetoric—such as references to other media lawsuits and claims that the NYT acted as a "mouthpiece" for Democrats—before reaching the core defamation counts on pages 80 and 83.