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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial |
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ARTICLE VIEW: |
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Judge rejects Trump’s New York Times lawsuit for being ‘decidedly |
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improper and impermissible’ |
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By Brian Stelter, Hadas Gold, CNN |
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Updated: |
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1:30 PM EDT, Fri September 19, 2025 |
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Source: CNN |
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In a ruling dripping with derision, a federal judge has rejected |
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President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, |
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asserting that the rambling 85-page suit did not follow federal rules |
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for filing civil complaints. |
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The president’s team has been given a month to refile, and a Trump |
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spokesperson indicated that they will do so. |
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Judge Steven D. Merryday of the US District Court for the Middle |
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District of Florida said Friday that the suit “stands unmistakably |
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and inexcusably athwart the requirements of Rule 8” of the Federal |
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Rules of Civil Procedure. |
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A complaint must be a “short, plain, direct statement of allegations |
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of fact,” he wrote, and Trump’s broadside against The Times was |
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“decidedly improper and impermissible.” |
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Merryday said Trump’s legal team can refile in the next four weeks, |
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but must keep the complaint to 40 pages or fewer. |
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A complaint is not supposed to be “a public forum for vituperation |
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and invective” or “a megaphone for public relations,” he said. |
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When Trump filed the defamation suit earlier this week, claiming $15 |
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billion in damages, numerous legal experts , and several argued that it |
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was more of a PR stunt than a serious case. |
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The lengthy lawsuit accused the Times of being a “virtual |
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mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party. It also named as defendants |
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publisher Penguin Random House and four Times reporters, including two |
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who wrote a book for Penguin, titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump |
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Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of |
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Success.” |
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The complaint read at times like a pro-Trump op-ed, with page after |
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page of gushing praise for the president and repeated references to |
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lawsuits he has filed against other media outlets. |
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The president’s legal team indicated that it will submit an updated |
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complaint. |
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“President Trump will continue to hold the Fake News accountable |
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through this powerhouse lawsuit against the New York Times, its |
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reporters, and Penguin Random House, in accordance with the judge’s |
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direction on logistics,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said |
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in a statement. |
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A spokesperson for the New York Times said they “welcome the |
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judge’s quick ruling, which recognized that the complaint was a |
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political document rather than a serious legal filing.” |
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On Thursday, New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn said at an Axios |
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event that Trump was “wrong on the facts” and “wrong on the |
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law” regarding defamation. |
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“We’ll fight it, and we’ll win,” Kahn said. |
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Dana Bash contributed reporting. |
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