The Trump administration and the press: Trump's lawsuits against news outlets

Gone quiet · last story Aug 22, 2026

What this arc covers

Donald Trump's lawsuits against the press: his suit against CBS over a '60 Minutes' interview and Paramount's $16 million settlement, ABC's $15 million settlement, his suit against the Des Moines Register and its pollster, his $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times, its dismissal and refiling, and the BBC's apology for its edit of his January 6 speech and his $10 billion suit against it.

Donald Trump

Earliest story we hold Oct 31, 2024 · 20 stories · 136 independent sources (counted once each) · 660 days

Part ofDonald TrumpKamala HarrisFloridaIowaNew YorkTrump Media & Technology Group

Part of The Trump administration and the press

  1. Trump's lawsuits against news outletsThis arcOct 31, 2024 – Aug 22, 2026
  2. The end of federal money for NPR and PBSJan 30, 2025 – Mar 31, 2026
  3. Hegseth's Pentagon press restrictionsFeb 1, 2025 – Sep 4, 2026
  4. The White House's control of press accessFeb 11, 2025 – Sep 26, 2026
  5. The FCC's early review of ABC's licensesApr 28 – Aug 30, 2026

Where it standsnewest first · each bar runs left to right by leaning

Aug 22– 232026Trump urges court to reject BBC’s bid to secure records from his family in defamation case9 articles · 8 independent sources
1 left, 1 center, 1 right
Aug 14– 172026BBC lawsuit: Channel plans to subpoena Trump family members26 articles · 18 independent sources
1 left, 6 center, 2 right
Aug 5– 82026US federal judge halts order for Trump to turn over financial records to BBC9 articles · 7 independent sources
1 left, 3 center, 1 right

Key momentsthe most covered; every story is below

  1. Dec 14 – 17, 2024ABC settles with Trump for $15 million. Now, he wants to sue other news outlets97 articles · 61 independent sources
  2. Dec 16 – 18, 2024Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for 'election interference' after pre-election poll58 articles · 46 independent sources
  3. Jun 30 – Jul 3, 2025Paramount agrees to pay $16 million to settle Trump ’60 Minutes’ lawsuit68 articles · 44 independent sources
    1. Jun 30, 2025Trump and Paramount say they’re in ‘advanced’ settlement talks over ‘60 Minutes’ edit
    2. Jul 2, 2025Paramount is paying $16 million to settle Trump's '60 Minutes' lawsuit
    3. Jul 3, 2025Only right-leaning coverage:CBS Journalists Rage at Parent Company's 'Betrayal' in Settling Trump Lawsuit
  4. Sep 16 – 19, 2025Federal judge tosses Trump's $15B defamation lawsuit against New York Times51 articles · 43 independent sources
    1. Sep 16, 2025Only lean-left coverage:Donald Trump files $15bn lawsuit against New York Times
    2. Sep 17, 2025Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times is meritless, First Amendment experts say
  5. Nov 10 – 15, 2025The BBC apologized for its edit of Trump's January 6 speech. He says he will still sue67 articles · 47 independent sources
    1. Nov 10, 2025Trump threatens BBC with $1bn lawsuit over edited January 6 speech
    2. Nov 13, 2025BBC apologizes to Trump over its misleading edit, but says there’s no basis for a defamation claim
    3. Nov 15, 2025Trump says he will sue the BBC despite broadcaster’s apology

Who covered it, over timeindependent sources per week, by side

Oct 2024Mar 2025Jul 2025Nov 2025Apr 2026Aug 2026

LeftCenterRight

Point at or tap a week to see its count by side.

Every week as a table
Week ofLeftCenterRightArticles
Oct 28, 2024351221
Dec 9, 20244131460
Dec 16, 202416181686
Jun 30, 20257151059
Sep 15, 202515171395
Oct 13, 20251124
Nov 10, 2025821890
Dec 15, 20251171047
Jan 12, 202626220
Mar 16, 20262003
Jul 6, 202612317
Jul 20, 20261215
Jul 27, 202602318
Aug 3, 20261316
Aug 10, 202605120
Aug 17, 202623212

Stories before June 28, 2026 come from archived pages, so who covered them is limited to the outlets we recovered for that period.

28% left · 46% center · 26% right of 136 independent sources among the outlets we track, across 20 stories.

Every storyoldest first

  1. October 2024

    Oct 31– Nov 1Trump sues CBS over ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Harris. Legal experts call it ‘frivolous and dangerous’24 articles · 24 independent sources
    3 left, 5 center, 12 right

  2. December 2024

    Dec 14– 17ABC settles with Trump for $15 million. Now, he wants to sue other news outlets97 articles · 61 independent sources
    11 left, 16 center, 17 right
  3. Dec 16– 18Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for 'election interference' after pre-election poll58 articles · 46 independent sources
    9 left, 12 center, 11 right

  4. June 2025

    Jun 30– Jul 3Paramount agrees to pay $16 million to settle Trump ’60 Minutes’ lawsuit68 articles · 44 independent sources
    7 left, 15 center, 10 right

  5. September 2025

    Sep 16Trump files $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times56 articles · 41 independent sources
    8 left, 9 center, 9 right
  6. Sep 16– 19Federal judge tosses Trump's $15B defamation lawsuit against New York Times51 articles · 43 independent sources
    12 left, 12 center, 8 right

  7. October 2025

    Oct 17Trump refiles $15B defamation lawsuit against The New York Times6 articles · 6 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 2 right

  8. November 2025

    Nov 9– 10BBC says Trump has threatened to sue over edited speech that sparked resignations by news bosses6 articles · 6 independent sources
    2 left, 2 center, 0 right
  9. Nov 10– 12Why is Trump threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion?45 articles · 31 independent sources
    4 left, 12 center, 3 right
  10. Nov 10– 15The BBC apologized for its edit of Trump's January 6 speech. He says he will still sue67 articles · 47 independent sources
    5 left, 16 center, 8 right

  11. December 2025

    Dec 16– 17Trump sues BBC over edited Jan. 6 speech clip; seeks $10 billion57 articles · 40 independent sources
    11 left, 7 center, 10 right

  12. January 2026

    Jan 13The BBC seeks to dismiss Trump’s $10B defamation lawsuit in a Florida court23 articles · 14 independent sources
    2 left, 6 center, 2 right

  13. March 2026

    Mar 16BBC asks U.S. court to dismiss Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit5 articles · 5 independent sources
    2 left, 0 center, 0 right

  14. July 2026

    Jul 7– 9Judge tosses Trump Media’s $3.8 billion defamation suit against The Washington Post18 articles · 16 independent sources
    1 left, 2 center, 3 right
  15. Jul 21– 22Trump ordered by judge to reveal financial records in BBC defamation6 articles · 6 independent sources
    1 left, 2 center, 1 right
  16. Jul 27– 28Judge orders Trump to turn over financial documents in BBC defamation case14 articles · 6 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 0 right
  17. Jul 27– 28Judge allows Trump to refile $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times6 articles · 6 independent sources
    0 left, 1 center, 3 right

  18. August 2026

    Aug 5– 8US federal judge halts order for Trump to turn over financial records to BBC9 articles · 7 independent sources
    1 left, 3 center, 1 right
  19. Aug 14– 17BBC lawsuit: Channel plans to subpoena Trump family members26 articles · 18 independent sources
    1 left, 6 center, 2 right
  20. Aug 22– 23Trump urges court to reject BBC’s bid to secure records from his family in defamation case9 articles · 8 independent sources
    1 left, 1 center, 1 right