Overview

• An 85-page complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking $15 billion in damages.
• The case names the New York Times, four of its journalists—Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt—and Penguin Random House.
• Trump’s claims center on three Times articles from September and October 2024 and a book by Buettner and Craig, which he alleges form part of a long-running defamatory campaign.
• The Times rejected the suit as legally baseless and an attempt to suppress independent reporting, pledging to continue its journalism.
• The filing extends Trump’s broader legal offensive against media, following prior suits and multimillion-dollar settlements with ABC and CBS and raising press‑freedom concerns highlighted by experts.