Judge Lets Trump Amend $15B Defamation Suit vs NYT

A federal judge has allowed former President Donald Trump to amend his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, a procedural move Trump celebrated as a significant legal victory. The ruling, issued on Monday, July 27, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday, defers the newspaper's motion to dismiss the case and grants Trump's legal team until August 27 to file an updated complaint.

Judge Merryday, presiding in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, did not explain the specific deficiencies requiring revision but ordered that The New York Times will have three weeks to respond once the amended filing is submitted. The decision keeps the high-stakes lawsuit alive, at least temporarily, as the court considers the merits of the claims.

Trump promptly hailed the order on his Truth Social platform, declaring the newspaper had "failed again in their desperate attempt to have our powerful Defamation Lawsuit against them dropped." He stated the revised complaint would detail, "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...