A federal judge has deferred The New York Times’ motion to dismiss President Donald Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit, ordering the plaintiff to submit an amended complaint, according to reporting by www.thewrap.com. Trump’s attorneys have been given until August 27 to revise the lawsuit before the court further considers the dismissal motion. Judge Steven D. Merryday, who issued the order, did not specify the reasons for requiring the revisions, but noted the Times will have three weeks to respond to the updated filing.
President Trump characterized the order as a victory on Truth Social, stating the newspaper "failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped." He asserted the "Highly Respected Judge has called for an updated complaint, which will lay out, in extreme detail, all the ways in which The Times has repeatedly and consistently acted, with actual malice in defaming me, my family, our Great MAGA Movement, and America, itself." He vowed to "continue to hold The Times and their ‘comrades; in the Mainstream Media accountable for publishing, promoting, and dealing in Fake News."
This is not the first instance the presiding judge has intervened in the filing. President Trump initially filed the 85-page libel lawsuit in September 2025 in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, seeking $15 billion plus punitive damages over what he termed "unfavorable coverage." The complaint named The New York Times, its reporters Peter Baker, Susanne Craig, Michael Schmidt, and Russ Buettner, and publisher Penguin Random House as defendants. It alleged the defendants published articles "filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications" and made "numerous other malicious, defamatory, and disparaging claims" about him, his family, businesses, and wealth, aligning with a "pattern of falsehoods and defamation." The initial filing heavily cited articles predating his return to the White House, focusing on his first term or the 2024 campaign, with one series of stories from his second term on the Obama administration's alleged false narrative concerning Russia’s 2016 election interference.
Judge Merryday struck down that initial filing in September 2025, stating the nearly 90-page lawsuit was "not a protected platform to rage against an adversary" and "not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally." The judge granted Trump’s attorneys 28 days to amend the lawsuit, which was refiled in October 2025.
In response to that refiling, a spokesperson for The New York Times issued a statement asserting, "this lawsuit has no merit." The spokesperson added, "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." A spokesperson from Trump's legal team maintained at the time that President Trump was "continuing to hold the Fake News responsible through this powerhouse lawsuit."
Neither The New York Times nor the White House immediately responded to TheWrap’s request for comment regarding the latest deferral.
