Trump Campaign Sues New York Times for “Millions” over “Libel” Regarding Russian Conspiracies

“Team Trump” reported today on Twitter that the campaign is officially filing a libel lawsuit against the New York Times, or as President Trump often likes to call them, “the failing New York Times”. The lawsuit alleges that the New York Times falsely reported Russian conspiracy stories as fact. The caption on the “Team Trump” tweet that can be seen below reads:

“Today, Team Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over a story falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia.

Statement from @JennaEllisEsq, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. below.”

Today, Team Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over a story falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia.

Statement from @JennaEllisEsq, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. below. pic.twitter.com/qqjgSjtsGt

— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) February 26, 2020

In the lawsuit filing, the campaign alleges in part that the NYT:

“knowingly published false and defamatory statements of and concerning plaintiff Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. (the “Campaign”), claiming it had an “overarching deal” with “Vladimir Putin’s oligarchy” to “help in the campaign against Hillary Clinton” in exchange for “a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from the Obama administration’s burdensome economic sanctions.”

The suit goes on to assert that the New York Times knew at the time that the allegations were untrue. The Conservative editorial “Big League Politics” reported on this as well, saying in part:

The development could represent the first step towards holding fake news accountable for wide-ranging conspiracies alleging Russian interference in American politics on behalf of Trump, a recurring theme in the New York Times’ editorial and news coverage since the President’s election.

The Trump campaign is pointing to an op-ed in 2019 as an incident in which the Times “knowingly published false and defamatory statements,” most notably claiming that President Trump was willfully working with the Russia to ensure his election. The Times claimed Russia was boosting Trump’s political prospects with the hopes of a pro-Russian foreign policy to come during the Trump administration.

In the suit, an exact sum was not able to be found but rather it is alleged that “millions of dollars” are due as relief for the damages that were caused. See excerpt below:

“PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Campaign prays for relief as follows: i. Compensatory damages in the millions of dollars, according to proof; ii. Presumed damages according to proof; iii. Punitive damages according to proof; iv. Costs of suit; and v. Such other and further relief as the Court may deem proper”