(CNN) — President Donald Trump says he is filing an audacious lawsuit against The New York Times, alleging defamation and accusing the outlet of being a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party.

The president is demanding $15 billion in damages, which exceeds the entire market cap of The New York Times Company.

The lawsuit is the latest example of what First Amendment experts have described as a presidential strategy to silence critical news coverage and curb free speech by filing legally dubious lawsuits.

Trump claims it is an effort to “restore integrity to journalism.”

The defamation suit against The Times also names book publisher Penguin Random House and four Times reporters, two of whom wrote a book for Penguin, titled “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s

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