CNN —Donald Trump has paid $392,000 to The New York Times to cover the legal costs from his failed lawsuit against the newspaper and its journalists over a 2018 investigation into his finances that included confidential tax records, a spokesman for the Times told CNN on Monday.
Trump was ordered to pay the money in January, more than eight months after Judge Robert R. Reed granted the Times’ motion to dismiss the case against it and its journalists, concluding the journalists’ conduct was protected by the New York Constitution.
The reporting series, authored by David Barstow, Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner, went on to win the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting.
A spokesman for the Times on Monday called the anti-SLAPP statute a “powerful force for protecting press freedom.”“This decision shows that the state’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute can be a powerful force for protecting press freedom,” Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said in a statement.
“The court has sent a message to those who want to misuse the judicial system to try to silence journalists.”CNN has reached out to representatives for Trump for comment.
Persons:
Donald Trump, Trump, Robert R, Reed, David Barstow, Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, ”, Charlie Stadtlander, “, Rob Frehse
Organizations:
CNN, New York Times, Times, New, ”, ” CNN, Trump
Locations:
New York