A New York judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times and three of its reporters after his failed lawsuit in 2021 over the newspaper’s bombshell reports on his tax records.
The 2021 lawsuit accused the paper, three of its reporters and Trump’s niece Mary L. Trump — who was a source for The Times’ investigative reports into the use of suspect tax schemes to avoid paying millions to the government — of engaging in an “insidious plot” to obtain his private files. Trump also alleged that they “were motivated by a personal vendetta.”
Trump sought at least $100 million in damages in the lawsuit. But the case was thrown out last May by New York Supreme Court Justice Robert Reed, who ruled that the Times’ reporting of his tax returns was protected by the First Amendment right to free speech.
“Courts have long recognized that reporters are entitled to engage in legal and ordinary news-gathering activities without fear of tort liability — as these actions are at the very core of protected First Amendment activity,” Reed wrote in his decision.
“Considering the complexity of the issues presented in this action, the number of causes of action, the experience, ability and reputation of defendants’ attorneys, the considerable amount in dispute, and the attorneys’ success in dismissing the complaint against their defendants … the court finds that $392,638.69 is a reasonable value for the legal services rendered,” Reed said in the decision, according to ABC News.
Trump objected to the amount, arguing that the legal work included “unjustified or duplicative work and exorbitant hourly rates,” ABC News reported.
A decision had not been made about the allegations against Trump’s niece when the Times and its reporters were dismissed from the case last year. Her attorney had told The Washington Post that he was confident the court would rule similarly in her favor and “protect [her] exercise of her First Amendment rights.”
In June, Reed allowed Trump’s claims against his niece to proceed, prompting her to request that the case be put on hold while she appealed the decision. Reed denied the request on Friday in a separate filing, The Associated Press reported.