Overview

• U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday criticized the filing as “decidedly improper and impermissible,” writing that a complaint is not a “megaphone for public relations.”
• The dismissal was procedural and did not address the truth or legal merits of President Trump’s defamation allegations.
• The court set a 28-day deadline for any amended complaint and imposed a 40-page limit after noting the original did not reach its first defamation count until page 80.
• Trump’s lawsuit sought $15 billion and named The New York Times, reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt, and Penguin Random House over pre-2024 election reporting and a book.
• The Times says the case lacks legal merit and plans to fight it, while a Trump legal spokesman says the president intends to refile consistent with the court’s directions.