Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Monday, adding to the US president's growing list of legal attacks on news organizations he accuses of bias against him.

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 demanding huge amounts of compensation.

In his suit filed Monday in federal court in Florida, Trump accuses The New York Times of a "decades-long pattern" of smears driven by feelings of "actual malice."

The Times reported last week that Trump had threatened legal action against it in relation to its articles on a lewd birthday note he allegedly gave to sex offender Jeffr

See Full Page