08:58 AM EDT, 09/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with New York Times' ( NYT ) response in fourth paragraph)

US President Donald Trump said Monday he filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times ( NYT ) , alleging that the news organization is a "mouthpiece" for the Democratic Party.

Trump accused the New York Times ( NYT ) of making false allegations against him, his family, his business, and the US, but did not provide specifics or elaborate on those claims.

"The New York Times ( NYT ) has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, now," Trump said in a post on social media platform Truth Social.

In an emailed statement to MT Newswire, a spokesperson for The New York Times ( NYT ) said, "This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting."

The company's shares were down 2.2% in recent Tuesday premarket activity.