Florida federal judge throws out Trump's gibberish-filled lawsuit against NYT; tells his lawyers to rewrite it
Also, indications are--to no surprise--that TikTok will be allowed to remain in business in the U.S. What the deal with ByteDance looks like is still unknown
Two late-breaking items in the news today:
Do better next time
U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday of Florida today tossed out Donald Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times that he filed earlier this week.
Merryday, a University of Florida law school grad and appointee of President George H.W. Bush, called the suit “tedious and burdensome” with too much language that had no bearing on the complaint.
That’s the polite way to put it.
Ben Meiselas of the Meidas Touch Network framed it like this:
Trump filed an 85-page document that spends most of its time performing PR for himself, breathless brags about The Apprentice, lists of his properties, long meditations on how “the legacy media” supposedly stole an election, and buries the actual, scant legal claims on page 80. Anyone who’s practiced law knows that’s not how a complaint is supposed to read. A complaint must be a short, plain, direct statement of facts that gives defendants fair notice of the claim against them. This thing was a dossier of grievances. A long-winded press release. Not litigation.
Said Judge Merryday:
“A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally. This action will begin, will continue, and will end in accord with the rules of procedure and in a professional and dignified manner.”
Merryday gave Trump’s lawyers four weeks to refile the complaint and ordered them to rewrite it to no more than 40 pages.
By way of comparison, the entirety of the U.S. Constitution, were it to be written as a legal brief, would take fewer than 30 pages. So, 40 should be plenty.
Four weeks should also give Trump’s lawyers time for a little remedial legal education on how to conduct themselves before a federal judge.
In addition to The New York Times, several writers and the book publisher Penguin Random House were named as defendants. I reported on that earlier this week. You can check out those details here:
TikTok TikTok
President Trump returned from Great Britain in time to make his promised phone call to his Chinese counterpart this morning. The topic of conversation: The future of TikTok.
Few concrete details have emerged. However, The Washington Post reports that the spin-off of the social media app has gotten Chinese approval. A TikTok spokesperson said the company would work “to ensure TikTok remains available to American users through TikTok U.S.”
This will be welcome, if unsurprising, news to TikTok’s 9.5 million Florida users and creators.
Look for the final deal to include a bevy of Trump cronies in on the action, including Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle. And critics will be keeping a close eye on whether TikTok sufficiently divests itself from the operation to satisfy the security concerns that prompted the law requiring its sale in the first place.
J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.
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