President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in Florida accusing the New York Times and its reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt, of disparagement. Penguin Random House, which published Buettner and Craig’s book based on their reporting, Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father's Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success (Penguin Press), is also named as a defendant. Trump had previously threatened to sue PRH last year over the book.
The suit alleges the publishers and reporters sought to undermine the President's election campaign in 2024 and is seeking a minimum of $15 billion in damages.
The complaint reads, in part, "The subject matter of this action—a malicious, defamatory, and disparaging book written by two of its reporters and three false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging articles, all carefully crafted by Defendants, with actual malice, calculated to inflict maximum damage upon President Trump, and all published during the height of a Presidential Election that became the most consequential in American history—represent a new journalistic low for the hopelessly compromised and tarnished 'Gray Lady.'"
It goes on to claim, "The Book and Articles are part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump."
In 2018, Trump attempted to block Henry Holt from publishing Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff, and has variously threatened and sued Simon & Schuster over multiple titles.
A spokesperson for Penguin Random House called Trump's action "a meritless lawsuit." They added, "Penguin Random House stands by the book and its authors and will continue to uphold the values of the First Amendment that are fundamental to our role as a book publisher."
The Times too has said as much, stating, "This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
