Trump's lawsuits against news organizations since 2024: two settlements, a dismissal, a partial dismissal and several pending suits (2024-2026) Synthesis Since late 2024 Donald Trump has sued or threatened major news organizations over their coverage. ABC News settled for $15 million plus $1 million in legal fees and CBS/Paramount for $16 million; the Des Moines Register poll suit was dismissed in September 2026; a judge partly dismissed the Wall Street Journal suit in April 2026 with leave to amend; the New York Times suit was refiled after a judge struck the first complaint; and the BBC suit is in discovery. Press-freedom groups call the suits efforts to chill reporting, while Trump says the coverage was false or deceptive. A settlement is not a finding of liability. Settlements (2024-2025) ABC News settled a March 2024 Trump defamation suit in December 2024, agreeing to pay $15 million toward his presidential library plus $1 million in legal fees; the ABC News (Australia) explainer adds that the settlement included an editor's note on an article. Trump sued CBS/Paramount on Oct. 31, 2024 over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris, under a Texas consumer-protection law. Paramount settled in July 2025 for $16 million, covering Trump's legal fees, with the remainder reportedly going to his future library. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said the CBS payout set a "dangerous precedent for the First Amendment," and press-freedom groups and media organizations raised alarm over the ABC settlement. Dismissed or narrowed by courts Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer: Trump sued on Dec. 16, 2024 under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act over a Nov. 2, 2024 poll showing Kamala Harris winning Iowa, describing it as "brazen election interference." He dropped a federal suit on June 30, 2025 and refiled in state court the same day. On Sept. 23, 2026 a state judge dismissed the suit, saying the poll and coverage are protected political speech, and Trump plans to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. The group FIRE, which defended Selzer, called the suit a SLAPP. Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two reporters: Trump sued on July 18, 2025 in federal court in Florida, demanding $10 billion over a story about a birthday letter allegedly from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. On April 13, 2026 Judge Darrin Gayles partially granted a motion to dismiss, finding Trump had not shown actual malice, and allowed an amended complaint, which Trump filed on May 27, 2026. The suit is pending, and Dow Jones said it would vigorously defend the reporting. Earlier suits were also dismissed: a 2022 suit against CNN seeking $475 million was dismissed by Judge Raag Singhal, who found the "big lie" comments were not defamatory. Pending suits New York Times, four reporters and Penguin Random House: Trump sued on Sept. 15, 2025 in federal court in Florida, demanding $15 billion. On Sept. 19, 2025 Judge Steven Merryday struck the complaint as "decidedly improper and impermissible," and Trump refiled on Oct. 16, 2025 with a shorter complaint that dropped one reporter. The Times said the suit is "merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting." BBC: Trump sued on Dec. 15, 2025, seeking $10 billion over a documentary that spliced portions of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech; the BBC apologized for the edit but denies defaming him. On Oct. 22, 2026 a magistrate judge ordered Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 or face sanctions up to dismissal. Perspectives Defender — Donald Trump (as stated in his complaints) The coverage was false, misleading or deceptive: the Selzer poll was \"brazen election interference,\" and the BBC documentary misled viewers by splicing his Jan. 6 speech. He has said \"We have to straighten out the press.\" Critic — News organizations and press-freedom groups (the Times, Dow Jones, FIRE, Freedom of the Press Foundation, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez) The suits are meritless attempts to chill independent reporting. The Times says the suit is merely an attempt to stifle reporting; Dow Jones says it will vigorously defend its story; FIRE called the Selzer suit a SLAPP; the Freedom of the Press Foundation's Seth Stern says caving to Trump gets you nothing; and Commissioner Gomez said the CBS payout set a dangerous precedent for the First Amendment. Legal view — Courts (Judges Singhal, Gayles, Merryday and the Iowa state court) Courts have so far dismissed or narrowed several suits: the CNN suit was dismissed as non-defamatory; the Journal suit was partly dismissed for failing to show actual malice; the Times complaint was struck as improper and had to be refiled; and the Selzer suit was dismissed as protected political speech. No court has found the settled claims meritorious, and settlements involved no admission of defamation. Research notes Sourcing: the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (Freedom of the Press Foundation project) version updated Sept. 24, 2026, and ABC News (Australia) explainer from Nov. 2025, plus the BBC entry's AP and CBS sources.\n\nDiscrepancies in the sources, not resolved here: the Tracker's own tally line (pending 3, dismissed 1, dropped 1, settled 0) does not match its case-by-case entries, so this entry does not cite the tally. The ABC explainer carries a caption giving a larger CBS/Paramount figure than its body text; the $16 million figure is the one stated in the body and in the Tracker.\n\nWhat the sources do not establish: where the CBS settlement money went (the Tracker says the remainder reportedly went toward Trump's future library; the ABC explainer does not say); the outcome of the pending appeals and motions; whether any settlement was influenced by pending regulatory matters (that is alleged by critics but not shown in these sources).\n\nOpen leads:\n- Court dockets for the Times (Judge Merryday) and Journal (Judge Gayles) suits and any ruling after May 2026.\n- Trump's appeal of the Selzer dismissal to the Iowa Supreme Court.\n- The ABC and Paramount settlement agreements and any related FCC or merger matters.\n- Other threatened suits and demand letters, including any against outlets not named here. Note Trump says the coverage was false or misleading and that the suits seek accountability; the news organizations and press-freedom groups say the suits are meritless attempts to chill reporting. Courts have so far dismissed or narrowed several of them, and the settlements involved no admission of defamation. Sources [1] U.S. Press Freedom Tracker — Media in the courthouse (lawsuits against news media; version updated Sept. 24, 2026) (https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/media-in-the-courthouse/) · 2026-09-24 [2] ABC News (Australia) — Where Trump's lawsuits against news outlets stand as he threatens to add BBC to the list (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-11/trump-media-lawsuits-explained-bbc/105996302) · 2025-11-11 [3] Associated Press via PBS NewsHour — Judge orders Trump to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11 (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-orders-trump-to-sit-for-a-deposition-in-his-defamation-lawsuit-against-the-bbc-by-dec-11) · 2026-10-22 Connections Related — Jan. 6, 2021 and Trump's rhetoric: the impeachment, the committee, the court rulings, the pardons, and later incidents at his events (2021-2026) The BBC suit, one of those covered, turns on the editing of Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 speech. Related — Trump's $10 billion BBC defamation suit: magistrate judge orders his deposition by Dec. 11 or sanctions up to dismissal (Oct. 22, 2026) The BBC suit is one of the suits tracked in the media-lawsuits entry, which compares outcomes across outlets.