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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump is suing the New York Times for defamation, demanding $15 billion in damages as part of his latest attack on the free press.
What does the lawsuit say? Trump alleges that three New York Times articles published in 2024 were written to undermine his campaign in the closing stretch of the election, and the suit names four Times journalists and the publisher of a book by two of the reporters, as co-defendants.
The suit also includes aggrandizing descriptions of Trump’s career, including his “magnificent real estate achievements” and his “sui generis charisma and unique business acumen.”
In a statement, the Times said that Trump’s suit “lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting.”
What’s the goal of the lawsuit? In theory, the suit is intended to recoup damages for what it describes as “false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging” reporting. In reality, the complaint — and the eye-popping request for damages — is best seen as part of a larger pattern of behavior by Trump that is intended to suppress legitimate, critical reporting on Trump’s life, campaign, and administration by US news organizations.
Is Trump going to succeed? Almost certainly not. Defamation suits against a public figure have to meet an extremely high bar, called actual malice, to succeed, and truth is an absolute defense.
What’s the big picture? Trump’s attacks on the media are intended to coerce more favorable coverage of his administration. He has previously sued both ABC and CBS for their coverage, extracting settlements worth millions of dollars, and he has a pending $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch.
On Tuesday, he told ABC reporter Jonathan Karl that the Justice Department might “go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly.”
And with that, it’s time to log off…
Robert Redford, the legendary actor and director, died today at 89. The Washington Post has a great list of some of his best works here (and what kind of journalists would we be if we didn’t mention his role as journalism legend Bob Woodward in All the President’s Men), but I want to point to this clip, from A River Runs Through It, too. The film, directed by Redford, is a beautiful adaptation of what Roger Ebert described as “one of the few perfect books of the 20th century,” and it’s one that Redford fought hard to get made. If you’re looking for something to watch in his memory, I highly recommend it. Have a great evening!
