Donald Trump has filed a $5 billion defamation suit against the author and publisher of the 2005 book, "TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald."
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The suit filed Monday in Camden, N.J., claims author Timothy L. O'Brien, a New York Times journalist, grossly misrepresented Trump's net worth and "knowingly made egregiously false and malicious statements about Trump, his family, his personal life and his business dealings," Trump said in a news release issued Tuesday.
Trump claims in the suit that he provided O'Brien and Warner Books with correct information, which they chose to ignore.
Trump is seeking $2.5 billion in compensatory damages and $2.5 billion in punitive damages from O'Brien and Warner Books.
"The libel laws of this country exist to protect against the dissemination of malicious falsehoods," Trump said in a statement, adding the book was "terribly written."