Trump sues New York Times for libel over Russia interference story

The Times claims that Trump campaign is attempting to punish an opinion writer for writing an article they don't agree with

Donald Trump's re-election campaign has filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing America's newspaper of record of intentionally publishing a false story last year about Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

In the lawsuit, which the campaign annouced was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday, the campaign alleges that the Times published a false story on 27 March 2019 claiming that Mr Trump and his campaign had engaged in a deal with the allies of Russian president Vladimir Putin to help his campaign in 2016 in exhange for a pro-Russia policy once Mr Trump became president.

It marks an escalation between Mr Trump and the news media, which he has often derided as "fake news" while complaining about critical coverage of his administartion that he often says is biased against him.

"Today the President's re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the Campaign had an 'overarching deal' with 'Vladimir Putin's oligarchy' to 'help the campaign against Hillary Clinton' in exchange for 'a new pro-Russian foreign policy starting with relief from ... economic sanctions,'" said Jenna Ellis, the senior legal aide to the presiden'ts re-election campaign, in a statement.

The lawsuit, which originates from the campaign and not the presdient himself, falls roughly in line with his past comments, including the characterisation of elements of the news media as "the enemy of the American people".

In response to the lawsuit, a New York Times spokesperson said that the Trump campaign was attempting to punish an op-ed writer for having an opinion that offended the president and his campaign.

"The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable," the statement reads. "Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case."

The lawsuit marks just the latest clash between Mr Trump and the news media, with the president having frequently attacked the Times as well as other prominent national news outlets for their coverage of him.

In the past, the White House has even gone so far as to revoke access to media briefings for a CNN reporter who had asked the president a question and did not quickly give up his microphone when asked.