Trump Files a $15 Billion Lawsuit Against the New York Times, Accuses Them of Damaging His Solana Meme Coin Endeavor
In a dramatic turn of events, former U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. The lawsuit, submitted in a federal court in Florida, alleges that the publication of a series of articles and a book by four Times reporters has caused significant harm to Trump's reputation and business interests.
The complaint specifically names Maggie Haberman, Michael Schmidt, and Luke Broadwater as defendants. The articles and the book, published in fall 2024, several months before the January 2025 launch of Trump's Solana-based meme coin project, are at the heart of the lawsuit. Trump claims that the malicious publication of false information by the Times led to widespread damage to his business interests, including his meme coin project which experienced a dramatic 88% decline, bringing its current valuation to approximately $8.6 billion.
The lawsuit also links World Liberty's business dealings to a recent lucrative agreement between the U.S. government and the UAE regarding AI chips. World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform and a major source of wealth for the Trump family, has positioned itself as a major player in the decentralized finance space. However, the lawsuit does not mention Trump's other digital asset ventures, such as World Liberty Financial.
The lawsuit further alleges that The New York Times' reporting damaged Trump's Solana-based meme coin project's reputation. The Trump family's wealth increased by approximately $6 billion when trading launched for WLFI, the native governance token of World Liberty Financial.
The articles and the book cited in Trump's lawsuit are said to have made numerous false and defamatory statements about Trump, his family, and his businesses. The lawsuit claims that these statements were intended to harm Trump and his businesses, and that they were made with reckless disregard for the truth.
The New York Times has not yet issued a public response to the lawsuit. Legal experts suggest the case may face significant hurdles given the timing discrepancy between the publications and the launch of Trump's meme coin. The lawsuit also raises questions about the role of media in reporting on public figures and the potential impact of such reporting on their businesses.
This development comes at a time when Trump is actively involved in the digital asset space, with his meme coin remaining one of the largest tokens in the meme coin category, having launched shortly before his January 2025 inauguration as president. The outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for both Trump and the media industry.
