WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump refiled a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and several of its reporters, accusing the daily of trying to undermine his 2024 campaign and tarnish his reputation as a businessman.

The new 40-page filing follows a federal judge’s decision last month to dismiss Trump’s original 85-page complaint for being overly verbose and filled with “vituperation and invective.” Judge Steven D. Merryday had given Trump’s legal team 28 days to submit a more concise version.

“These breaches of journalistic ethics are further proven by the Times’ enthusiastic aiding and abetting of the partisan effort to falsely link Russian interference to President Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential Election,” the new complaint reads, calling it “one of the most profoundly disturbing criminal political scandals in American history.”

The lawsuit seeks $15 billion in damages and also names Penguin Random House, which published a book about Trump by New York Times reporters Susanne Craig and Russ Buettner.

A New York Times spokeswoman, quoted by the outlet, said Thursday that the suit “has no merit” and is “merely an attempt to stifle independent reporting.”

Trump’s legal team vowed to “continue to hold the Fake News accountable,” according to a statement by his attorneys to Washington-based newspaper The Hill.