The New York Times countersues EEOC, alleging ‘retaliatory, bad faith use of’ authority

By Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — The New York Times filed a counterclaim Friday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accusing the agency of retaliating against the publication for its reporting via a race- and gender-based discrimination lawsuit.

The countersuit follows an EEOC lawsuit filed in May on behalf of a White staffer, Bryant Rousseau, who claimed the Times had denied him a promotion to deputy editor on the basis of his race and gender.

The Times cast the EEOC’s action as politically motivated in its filing on Friday. The newspaper highlighted that the EEOC’s lawsuit came eight days after a Times report showed that staff at the agency said they were under pressure to pursue discrimination cases that “match (President Donald) Trump’s agenda” opposing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Shortly following its article on the EEOC, the Times reported that the agency was poised to sue after investigating a claim against the newspaper — later revealed to be Rousseau’s case. The EEOC sued the Times two days later.

Friday’s countersuit alleges that the EEOC’s lawsuit was filed even though the probe found “no evidence that race or sex was considered.”

“Despite pursuing an eight-month investigation of the Charge … the Commission tellingly does not (and could not) point to any evidence in its Complaint to show that Rousseau was discriminated against on the basis of his race or sex in connection with The Times’s hiring of a Real Estate Deputy Editor,” the Times’ attorneys write in the countersuit.

The Times also alleges that the EEOC’s lawsuit “was filed by a Commission that has expressly disavowed any independence from the President and is expressly committed to pursuing his agenda.”

“The Commission’s retaliatory, bad faith use of its authority to target The Times violates the First and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act (‘APA’) and poses a uniquely insidious threat to a free and independent press, and to our democracy,” attorneys allege elsewhere in the lawsuit.

The EEOC declined to comment, citing its ongoing lawsuit.

This isn’t the Times’ first legal fight with the Trump administration.

In September 2025, Trump filed a separate $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the Times, accusing it of being a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party. A judge dismissed Trump’s suit but allowed him to file an amended complaint.

The Times, meanwhile, sued the Department of Defense over restrictions on press access in December.

The EEOC’s lawsuit “attacks a news organization that the President has repeatedly disparaged for its newsgathering and reporting,” the Times attorneys write in the countersuit.

The EEOC initially brought the complaint without identifying Rousseau, who later joined the lawsuit in May. While the May complaint demanded Rousseau’s promotion to deputy editor, a June filing indicates he left the company.

In a statement in May, a Times spokesperson said the publication “categorically rejects the politically motivated allegations brought by the Trump administration’s EEOC.”

“Our employment practices are merit-based and focused on recruiting and promoting the best talent in the world,” the Times said. “We will defend ourselves vigorously.”

The countersuit makes several requests, including the dismissal of the EEOC’s suit with prejudice and the disbursement of “reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.