U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of running a decades-long campaign of lies against him. The lawsuit, which Trump says will be filed in Florida, cites reporting on his business dealings, political career, and alleged ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump described the paper as a “mouthpiece for the radical Left Democrat Party” and denounced its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as proof of partisan bias.
In a lengthy statement on Truth Social, Trump claimed the Times had engaged in a systematic effort to defame him, his family, and the MAGA movement, likening it to “the single largest illegal campaign contribution ever.” He also pointed to past legal battles against media outlets like ABC and CBS, which he said had settled defamation cases for large amounts. Trump vowed that the lawsuit would put an end to what he called years of unchecked “lies and smears,” declaring, “That stops now!”
The controversy comes as congressional investigators recently released a set of letters and photographs allegedly sent to Trump from Epstein’s estate on his 50th birthday. The collection included notes from Epstein, a message from former President Bill Clinton, and an entry bearing Trump’s name and apparent signature inside a sketch of a naked woman. While some messages were lighthearted, others were crude or sexually suggestive, referencing Epstein’s fixation on women. Trump has denied authoring the letter or creating the drawing, insisting he cut ties with Epstein long before his crimes became public.
This is not Trump’s first legal clash over media coverage of the Epstein files. He has already launched a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch over related reporting. The Epstein scandal continues to reverberate internationally, with the U.K. even withdrawing its ambassador to Washington over alleged links to Epstein. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, while his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a prison sentence for helping him recruit and exploit underage girls.
