Judge Roasts Trump's $15 Billion Lawsuit, Calling It a 'Tedious' PR Stunt and Tossing It Out

In a stunning legal setback for Donald Trump, his colossal $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times has been unceremoniously thrown out of court—not on its merits, but because a federal judge found the legal filing itself to be an excessively long and rambling political tirade.

United States District Judge Steven Merryday delivered a blistering four-page order from his Florida courtroom, effectively telling the former president's legal team to go back to the drawing board. He slammed the complaint as being full of "tedious and burdensome" language, declaring that a legal document "is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally."

The scathing critique suggests the judge viewed the lawsuit as more of a political statement than a serious legal action. The complaint, which centered on a book and an article by Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig, took aim at the outlet's reporting on Trump's finances and his pre-presidency role on the reality show "The Apprentice."

However, the case isn't completely dead yet. Judge Merryday has given Trump a lifeline, but it comes with strict conditions. The former president's team has just 28 days to submit a completely revised complaint. The catch? The new document is capped at a lean 40 pages, a stark contrast to the verbose original filing that drew the judge's ire.

In his order, the judge laid out a clear standard for what he expects, writing that a proper complaint must "fairly, precisely, directly, soberly, and economically inform the defendants … of the nature and content of the claims." The clear implication is that Trump's initial attempt failed spectacularly on all counts.

The clock is now ticking for Trump's attorneys, who must distill their multi-billion dollar grievance into a concise and sober legal argument that can pass judicial muster. This unexpected dismissal transforms the high-profile legal battle, shifting the immediate focus from the alleged defamation to whether Trump's team can even file a lawsuit that meets basic court standards.