A New York Supreme Court judge on Wednesday dismissed former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times.
According to Axios, the former president filed his $100 million lawsuit against the newspaper and his niece Mary Trump in 2021 over The Times' 2018 reporting of his tax records. Trump has since alleged that it was "an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly sensitive records."
But Judge Robert Reed said Trump's allegations "fail as a matter of constitutional law."
Courts have "long recognized," Reed said, "that reporters are entitled to engage in legal and ordinary newsgathering activities without fear of tort liability" because of First Amendment protections.
Trump has since been ordered to pay all of The Times's legal fees. In regards to Mary Trump, the judge has not yet reached a decision.
"The New York Times is pleased with the judge's decision today," information of vital importance to the public," Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement. "It is an important precedent reaffirming that the press is protected when it engages in routine newsgathering to obtain information of vital importance to the public."
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