Overview

• U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday said the complaint violated civil procedure and wrote that a complaint is “not a megaphone for public relations.”
• The case in the Middle District of Florida is paused pending an amended filing limited to 40 pages within 28 days.
• Trump’s suit names The New York Times, reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, and Penguin Random House over three articles from September–October last year and a book by Craig and Buettner.
• The Times called the case baseless and a bid to suppress independent reporting, pledging to continue its journalism without fear or favor.
• The ruling comes as Trump intensifies pressure on media, labeling negative coverage “illegal” and pursuing related actions, including a July suit against Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal, after earlier multimillion-dollar settlements with ABC, CBS and Paramount.