U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to announce an agreement with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) between the two countries, at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on Sept. 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain.
Leon Neal | Via Reuters
A federal judge in Tampa, Florida, on Friday struck President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times as “decidedly improper and impermissible,” but will allow Trump to refile a shorter, less florid amended civil complaint within the next month.
Judge Steven Merryday criticized Trump’s lengthy lawsuit for being way too long on praise for the president and “superfluous allegations.”
Merryday noted that the lawsuit “consumes” 85 pages, but that Trump’s two civil counts against the newspaper are only detailed in the last few pages, after many, many pages of fulminating about Trump’s foes and boasting of his accomplishments.
“As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” Merryday wrote.
“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner,” the judge said, referring to the famed free-speech haven in London.
Merryday gave Trump and his lawyers 28 days to file an amended lawsuit against the Times, but warned them not to make it longer than 40 pages.
“This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner,” the judge wrote.
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