Overview

• U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday threw out the 85-page complaint in its current form for violating procedural rules.
• The order permits President Trump to refile within 28 days and limits any amended complaint to 40 pages.
• The judge criticized the filing for lengthy, unsubstantiated assertions and noted that a complaint is not a platform for invective.
• The New York Times said it welcomed the swift decision, describing the suit as a political document rather than a serious legal claim.
• Trump’s filing targets a book and three articles, including coverage tied to a 2003 birthday letter attributed to him and addressed to Jeffrey Epstein, and follows a separate July defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal seeking at least $10 billion.