Judge Tosses Trump’s ‘Tedious and Burdensome’ Lawsuit Against New York Times

A federal judge on Friday threw out President Trump’s defamation suit against the New York Times, calling it “tedious and burdensome” and saying that a complaint is not “a protected platform to rage against an adversary.”

Trump on Tuesday sued the newspaper, several of its reporters, and the publisher of the book “Lucky Loser” over reporting about the president’s finances and business career.

In a ruling on Friday, Judge Steven D. Merryday struck the complaint and gave Trump’s lawyers 28 days to refile. The judge ordered that the amended complaint be no more than 40 pages long and that it “accord with the rules of procedure.”

“As every lawyer knows (or is presumed to know), a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary,” the judge wrote. “A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner.”