NYT chief executive warns Trump is deploying ‘anti-press playbook,’ FT says
THE chief executive officer of the New York Times (NYT), Meredith Kopit Levien, said the company would “not be cowed” by US President Donald J. Trump’s $15-billion lawsuit against the newspaper, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday.
The suit is the latest in Mr. 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, Mr. 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 will not be cowed by this.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Monday’s suit, Mr. 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. — Reuters
