Judge dismisses Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times Chicago Tribune

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NEW YORK — A New York judge dismissed former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times on Wednesday, saying the First Amendment clearly protects Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers from his finances.

When Trump filed suit in 2021, he accused the paper and three of its reporters of conspiring in a fraudulent scheme with his estranged niece, Mary Trump, to improperly obtain his confidential tax records for a series of stories published in 2018.

In a decision filed Wednesday afternoon, Justice Robert R. Reed of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan wrote that Donald Trumps claims against the Times and its reporters fail as a matter of constitutional law.

Courts have long recognized that journalists have the right to engage in lawful and ordinary newsgathering activities without fear of tort liability because these actions are at the heart of protected first amendment activity, wrote Reed.

The judge also ordered Trump to pay legal fees and related expenses for the Times and its reporters, Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russ Buettner.

The New York Times is pleased with the judges’ decision today, said Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesman for the company. This is an important precedent that reaffirms that the press is protected when it engages in routine news gathering to obtain information of public importance.

In a statement, the Trumps’ attorney, Alina Habba, said we will weigh our client’s options and will continue to fight hard on his behalf, though she did not specifically address whether the Trumps’ attorneys will appeal. the decision.

The Times’ reporters had gone far beyond conventional newsgathering methods permitted by the First Amendment, he said, adding: All reporters should be held accountable when they commit civil wrongs.

While the ruling shot down the lawsuit brought by Trump, he is still entangled in several legal matters in which he is the defendant. The former president was indicted in New York in March for his role in paying hush money to a porn star to hide his story of having sex with her.

He is the first former or sitting president in history to face criminal charges, and he also faces investigations in Georgia and Washington.

Trumps taxes became a matter of public concern after he failed to publicly release his tax returns during the 2016 presidential campaign. Presidential candidates have routinely released their returns for at least four decades, but Trump refused, citing an ongoing audit.

That secrecy led to criticism that lasted throughout his presidency and to questions about his financial holdings.

The documents obtained by the Times were the basis of a series of articles that documented what the newspaper described as the Trumps’ history of tax evasion and outright fraud. The series was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting in 2019.

The investigation also cast doubt on former presidents who are said to be self-made billionaires. Instead, it found that he had inherited the equivalent of at least $413 million from his father, a real estate developer, much of it through dubious tax schemes.

Trump has frequently threatened to sue news media organizations during his long career in public life and has unsuccessfully sued the Times in the past.

In 2020, Trumps reelection campaign sued the Times for libel after the Opinion section, which operates independently of the newsroom, published a guest essay titled The Real Trump-Russia Quid Pro Quo. That lawsuit was dismissed in 2021.

c.2023 The New York Times Company

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