Former President Donald Trump was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and its reporters, Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner. This order comes after Trump’s unsuccessful lawsuit against them concerning their 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning story about his family’s wealth and tax practices.
New York Judge Robert Reed ruled that Trump must pay $392,638 in legal fees, citing the complexity of the case. The lawsuit, initially including Trump’s niece Mary Trump for allegedly breaching a settlement agreement by providing tax records to the reporters, is still ongoing against her.
Mary Trump, the sole remaining defendant, faced a setback as Judge Reed denied her request to pause the case during her appeal against a June decision permitting Trump’s claim against her to proceed. Mary Trump’s lawyers declined to comment, while Donald Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, expressed their intention to continue pursuing claims against Mary.
Filed in 2021, Donald Trump’s lawsuit accused the Times and its reporters of enticing Mary Trump to breach her settlement agreement by sharing confidential tax records related to family patriarch Fred Trump’s estate. The Times’ report challenged Donald Trump’s narrative of self-made wealth, revealing substantial financial support from his father, Fred Trump, including through tax avoidance schemes. The report was based on over 100,000 pages of financial documents, including confidential tax returns.
Donald Trump, seeking $100 million in damages, alleged a “personal vendetta” against him by Mary Trump, the Times, and the reporters. However, Reed emphasized that legal news gathering is protected under the First Amendment. Mary Trump, a vocal critic of her uncle, has portrayed him as “criminal, cruel, and traitorous” and filed a counterclaim under the anti-SLAPP law, asserting that Donald Trump’s lawsuit is retaliatory and meritless.
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