A Florida appeals court has rejected the Pulitzer Prize Board’s request to pause President Trump’s defamation lawsuit, clearing the way for the case to continue.
Trump filed suit in 2022, arguing that the board defamed him by awarding The New York Times and The Washington Post for their reporting on alleged Trump-Russia collusion during the 2016 election—a claim later disproven by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings. The board had asked to delay the case until after Trump’s current term, citing constitutional concerns, but the court dismissed the argument, saying only the president himself—not his legal opponents—can invoke such privileges.
In its opinion, the court emphasized that Trump voluntarily chose to bring the case and has not claimed immunity or asked for a delay. It also rejected comparisons to previous cases where Trump sought delays as a defendant, noting this situation is different because Trump is the plaintiff.
With this ruling, the case now heads toward the discovery phase, where Trump could seek internal Pulitzer communications about its 2022 decision to reaffirm the award.
