U.S. President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times on Monday, accusing the outlet of a “decades-long pattern” of smears driven by feelings of “actual malice.”

Trump, 79, has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, repeatedly badmouthing journalists critical of his administration, restricting access and bringing lawsuits.

The Times reported last week that Trump had threatened legal action against it in relation to its articles on a lewd birthday note allegedly given to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Republican president has denied authoring the note.

“The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” he wrote on his Truth Soc

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