President Donald Trump refiled a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times and three of its reporters on Thursday, accusing them of publishing defamatory comments while covering his 2024 campaign.
Last month, a federal judge struck down Trump's original lawsuit against the Times, which alleged that the newspaper and four of its reporters tried to ruin his reputation as a businessman, sink his campaign, and prejudice judges and juries against him.
In the complaint, which was also filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Trump accused reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner and Peter Baker of making "false, malicious, and defamatory statements" against him in two articles and one book. The book, entitled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success," was written by Craig and Buettner and published by Penguin Random House.
According to the filing, attorneys for Trump wrote to the newspaper's general counsel last year alerting them of what they alleged was defamatory content in their coverage and were met with pushback.
"Defendants rejected President Trump's reasonable demands for retraction, and instead doubled down and expanded on the malicious and defamatory falsehoods," attorneys for Trump wrote in the filing.
In a statement, The New York Times reasserted what it said when Trump filed the original lawsuit last month: "This lawsuit has no merit."
"Nothing has changed today. This is merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting and generate PR attention, but The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics," the statement read.
Craig, Baker and Buettner did not have any additional comment when contacted by NBC News. Craig and Baker have been contributors to MSNBC and NBC News.
Trump is accusing the Times and its reporters of six instances of defamation and of relying on "hopelessly biased or discredited sources."
The president is seeking a jury trial and no less than $15 billion in compensatory damages for the alleged defamation, as well as unspecified punitive damages to be decided in trial. He also wants the Times to retract "the defamatory publications and statements."
