New York judge dismisses Donald Trump’s lawsuit against New York Times for plotting to obtain his tax records

A lawsuit filed by Donald Trump in 2021, in which he claimed that New York Times reporters had engaged in an “insidious plot” to obtain his tax records, has been dismissed by a New York judge. The former president has also been ordered to cover all legal costs and fees incurred by the New York Times and its reporters. The lawsuit alleged that the newspaper had persuaded Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece, “to smuggle the records out of her attorney’s office.” However, a decision has not yet been made on the allegations made by Donald Trump against his niece.

The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for a series of stories that drew on information from Mary Trump in order to refute the former president’s claims that he was a self-made millionaire by demonstrating that he had inherited hundreds of millions of dollars. The New York Supreme Court’s Justice Robert Reed dismissed Trump’s claims, stating that they “fail as a matter of constitutional law” and that journalists are protected when carrying out lawful, standard news gathering.

A spokesperson for the New York Times expressed pleasure with the judge’s decision and called it an important precedent that reaffirms the press’s protection when engaging in routine news gathering to obtain vital information for the public. Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, said in a statement that they would weigh their client’s options and continue to fight vigorously on his behalf.

Last year, Trump sued CNN, alleging defamation and asking for $475 million in damages. His reelection campaign also sued the New York Times and the Washington Post in 2020 over opinion pieces claiming that he was involved in Russian election interference. Cases brought against each newspaper were ultimately dropped.

E Jean Carroll, an advice columnist, testified before a New York jury that Donald Trump had sexually assaulted her in a changing room at a New York department store in 1996. She stated that Trump’s actions left her unable to be in a romantic relationship and that he had later destroyed her reputation by denying that the assault had taken place. Carroll testified in her civil lawsuit seeking damages for abuse and defamation.