Trump's billion-dollar suits target press

Summary

Trump pursued a series of large defamation actions against major outlets: ABC/Disney settled for $15M, he filed a $10B suit against The Wall Street Journal over an Epstein story, and a $15B suit against The New York Times. Courts dismissed both the NYT and WSJ suits with leave to amend, and Trump refiled each - the NYT suit in October 2025 and the WSJ suit in May 2026. The pattern pressures newsrooms via costly litigation.

What happened

Trump filed and pursued large defamation actions against major outlets. ABC/Disney settled for $15M to his library plus fees in December 2024. In July 2025 he filed a $10B suit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over an Epstein story, and in September 2025 a $15B suit against The New York Times and Penguin Random House. Judge Steven Merryday dismissed the original NYT complaint on September 19, 2025 with leave to amend, and Trump refiled a 40-page amended $15B complaint against the NYT and Penguin Random House on October 16, 2025; on July 27, 2026, after a hearing, Merryday deferred ruling on the defendants' motion to dismiss and allowed a second amended complaint, which Trump filed on August 27, 2026; the suit remains pending in the Middle District of Florida. A federal judge dismissed the $10B WSJ/Murdoch suit on April 13, 2026 (with leave to amend, for failing to plead actual malice), and Trump refiled the $10B suit against the WSJ's publisher and two reporters on May 26, 2026. The pattern pressures newsrooms through costly litigation.

Impact on the United States

Uses presidential litigation as leverage to chill critical reporting and extract concessions or payments, with a documented settlement and demonstrated willingness to sue, dismiss-and-refile, for tens of billions.

Documented effects

1. Dec 2024ABC News settled its defamation suit for $15M to Trump's library plus fees.[1]
2. Oct 2025A federal judge dismissed Trump's $15B defamation suit against The New York Times on Sept 19, 2025 with leave to amend; Trump refiled an amended $15B complaint Oct 16, 2025, which remains pending.[2][3][4]
3. May 2026The $10B WSJ/Murdoch suit was dismissed April 13, 2026 (with leave to amend, for failing to plead actual malice); Trump refiled it against the WSJ's publisher and two reporters May 26, 2026.[5][6]
4. Aug 27, 2026On July 27, 2026, after a July 22 hearing, Judge Merryday deferred ruling on the New York Times' motion to dismiss and allowed Trump to amend again; Trump filed a second amended complaint against the Times, three reporters and Penguin Random House on August 27, 2026.[7][8]

Why this is rated significant

Litigation pressure on the press, with one settlement despite a major dismissal.

Corrections & updates [3]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSource

   The PBS NewsHour (AP) report of the dismissal of the NYT suit is dated September 19, 2025, the day of Judge Merryday's order, not September 15.[2]

2. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSource

   Relabeled entertainment trade-press sources (Variety, Deadline) from Tier 2 to Tier 3 under the project's sourcing standards; the entry keeps at least one Tier 1 or Tier 2 source for each affected claim.[3]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedDate

   Corrected: the entry dated Trump's refiled Wall Street Journal suit May 28, 2026, the date of CNN's report; CNN describes it as 'Tuesday's filing,' which was May 26, 2026. Also updated: in the New York Times case, Judge Steven Merryday held a hearing on the defendants' motion to dismiss on July 22, 2026, then on July 27 deferred ruling on it and let Trump file a second amended complaint, which Trump filed on August 27, 2026. The suit remains pending. Court records are added.[6][7][8]

Sources [8]