Judge Orders Trump to Pay New York Times Over Bogus Lawsuit

A New York judge has ordered Donald Trump to reimburse The New York Times and three journalists $392,638.69 in legal fees related to a frivolous lawsuit the former president leveled against the newspaper. 

On Friday, New York Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Reed ruled that pursuant to a May decision dismissing the former president’s lawsuit against the Times, “$392,638.69 is a reasonable value for the legal services rendered,” and ordered Trump to pay up. 

In September of 2021, Trump sued the Times, journalists Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner, as well as his niece Mary Trump over a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by the paper into his pre-presidency finances and tax records. The former president accused the Times and its reporters of conspiring with his niece to carry out an “insidious plot” to obtain his financial records. 

In May, Judge Reed dismissed the lawsuit, writing in his decision that Trump’s accusations “fail as a matter of constitutional law.” 

Reed added that “courts have long recognized that reporters are entitled to engage in legal and ordinary newsgathering activities without fear of tort liability — as these actions are at the very core of protected First Amendment activity,”  and that Trump was unable to offer proof that “The Times reporters committed any wrongful act falling outside of the scope of their normal work duties.” 

While the ruling represents a major victory for the Times, there’s still one major hurdle in their legal saga against Trump: getting him to actually write them a check.