Trump Slams NYT with $15B Lawsuit Over Alleged Crypto Project Smear Campaign
Former President fires legal volley against media giant—claiming deliberate misinformation torpedoed his blockchain venture.
The $15 Billion Question
Court documents allege The New York Times published 'knowingly false' statements about Trump's digital asset initiative, causing catastrophic investor pullouts. The suit claims reporters ignored verifiable transaction data that contradicted their narrative.
Media vs. Crypto: Eternal Enemies?
This case highlights the escalating tension between legacy media and decentralized finance. Traditional outlets keep labeling crypto projects as scams—while quietly accumulating BTC in their corporate treasuries. The hypocrisy would be amusing if it weren't so financially destructive.
Discovery could force unprecedented transparency into editorial processes. Subpoenas might reveal whether this was lazy journalism or coordinated opposition to financial disruption.
Win or lose, this lawsuit already proves one thing: when you attack someone's crypto portfolio, you're attacking their soul—and they will come for you with every dollar they have left.
Lawsuit details
According to the court filing, the lawsuit names several New York Times journalists, including Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker, and Michael S. Schmidt, as co-defendants.
In addition, the lawsuit also named book publishing firm Penguin Random House, which produced a book about Trump written by Times journalists.
Trump’s legal team argued that the articles and the subsequent book were produced with malice and strategically released during the election season to inflict maximum political damage.
The complaint alleged that the publications targeted his reputation as a political candidate and extended to his personal businesses, including the Trump Organization, and his media and crypto ventures like the TRUMP memecoin.
According to the filing:
“[The] statements falsely cast aspersions on President Trump’s reputation as a businessman or the Trump Organization’s legitimacy, therefore cause direct and easily foreseeable harm to these businesses’ value, revenue, and profitability.”
The lawsuit arrives as Trump’s memecoin faces steep market losses. According to data from CryptoSlate, the $TRUMP token has dropped more than 88% in value since its launch.
While crypto markets are notoriously volatile, Trump’s legal team argued that the sustained negative coverage worsened the token’s performance by undermining investor confidence.
