Sept 17 (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of the

New York Times ( NYT ), Meredith Kopit Levien, said the company

would "not be cowed" by U.S. President Donald Trump's

$15-billion lawsuit against the newspaper, the Financial Times

reported on Wednesday.

The suit is the latest in Trump's flurry of legal attacks on

media during his second term, including a $10-billion defamation

case against the Wall Street Journal in July.

The lawsuit was legally baseless, Levien told a Financial

Times conference in remarks the paper called her first public

utterance on the matter.

"The lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal

claims. I believe its purpose is to stifle independent

journalism, to deter the kind of fact-based reporting that the

Times and other institutions are known for."

She added, "There is an anti-press playbook at this point

. . . The New York Times ( NYT ) will not be cowed by this."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

In Monday's suit, Trump accused the paper of maliciously

publishing articles and a book filled with "repugnant

distortions and fabrications about President Trump".

In response to a Reuters request for comment on the filing,

the paper said on Tuesday the lawsuit had no legitimate legal

claims and was a bid to stifle and discourage independent

reporting.