Trump’s New York Times lawsuit struck down for not being ‘short, plain, direct’
By Brian Stelter, Hadas Gold, CNN
(CNN) — In a ruling dripping with derision, a federal judge has rejected President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, asserting that the rambling 85-page suit did not follow federal rules for filing civil complaints.
Judge Steven D. Merryday of the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida said Friday that the suit “stands unmistakably and inexcusably athwart the requirements of Rule 8” of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Merryday said Trump’s legal team can refile in the next four weeks, but must keep the complaint to 40 pages or fewer.
A complaint is not supposed to be “a public forum for vituperation and invective” or “a megaphone for public relations,” he said.
When Trump filed the defamation suit earlier this week, claiming $15 billion in damages, numerous legal experts told CNN that the suit was meritless, and several argued that it was more of a PR stunt than a serious case.
A representative for The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, New York Times executive editor Joe Kahn said at an Axios event that Trump was “wrong on the facts” and “wrong on the law” regarding defamation.
“We’ll fight it, and we’ll win,” Kahn said.
The-CNN-Wire
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