President Donald Trump has refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and three of its reporters, following the dismissal of his initial complaint last month by a federal judge.
The amended 40-page filing, submitted Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, accuses reporters Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, and Peter Baker of making false and malicious statements in two articles and a book that allegedly damaged Trump's reputation as a businessman and undermined his 2024 presidential campaign.
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday had dismissed the original suit on September 19, ruling it violated federal procedural rules by being overly lengthy and argumentative.
The refiled complaint details six specific instances of defamation, claiming the defendants relied on biased or discredited sources to prejudice judges and juries against Trump.
Judge Merryday's order granted Trump 28 days to amend the complaint, criticizing the initial 85-page document for burying its core defamation claims deep within pages of evidence and legal arguments.
He emphasized that a complaint must provide a short and plain statement of the claim, not serve as a venue for aggregating evidence or rehearsing tendentious arguments.
The ruling did not evaluate the truth of the allegations or the merits of the claims themselves.
Trump's attorneys had previously contacted the newspaper's general counsel last year, demanding retractions for what they described as defamatory content in coverage related to his work on the television show The Apprentice.
The suit centers on reporting derived from the book "Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success," authored by Craig and Buettner and published by Penguin Random House.
It alleges that after rejecting demands for correction, the defendants expanded on the purported falsehoods.
Trump seeks a jury trial, at least $15 billion in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages, and a court-ordered retraction of the challenged publications.
The New York Times issued a statement reaffirming its position from the original filing.
"This lawsuit has no merit," the statement said.
"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."
Craig, Buettner, and Baker declined to comment when reached by NBC News.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between Trump and media outlets critical of his political and business endeavors.