President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, four of its reporters and its publisher Penguin Random House, on Monday in a Florida federal court. Trump claims their reporting intentionally damaged his cryptocurrency project, $TRUMP token.
The lawsuit alleges a decade-long pattern of intentional and malicious defamation against him. While the complaint focuses on a book and a series of articles published ahead of the 2024 presidential election that question his business acumen, it also broadly claims that the reporting damaged his reputation and ventures, including his cryptocurrency assets.
The complaint takes specific issue with a book titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success,” co-authored by New York Times reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, published by Penguin Random House. One of the articles questions the coin’s ties to Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto billionaire and a notable early investor in the token.
The New York Times in response says, “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
According to CoinMarketCap data, the $TRUMP token’s value has plummeted 88% from its all-time high of approximately $75.35, reaching a current price of around $8.49. The token’s market capitalization stands at about $1.7 billion. This significant drop in price is a central claim in the lawsuit, which alleges the reporting was the direct cause of the market downturn.
While $TRUMP memecoin has lost value in the last few months, President Trump has reportedly added billions to his net worth, thanks to his overall crypto and other ventures. The Trump family’s involvement in crypto has also expanded, with sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. deepening their engagement in the blockchain space.
