Former President Donald Trump has filed an urgent request in a Miami federal court for Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire media mogul and owner of the Wall Street Journal, to provide deposition testimony regarding a controversial article published in July. Trump's lawyers are seeking the deposition to occur within the next 15 days, highlighting Murdoch’s advanced age of 94 and recent health scares as reasons for the rush.
The lawsuit stems from an article in the Wall Street Journal that claimed Trump had penned a “bawdy” birthday letter for the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump's legal team asserts that he had previously informed Murdoch that the letter was "fake," alleging that the article aimed to tarnish the president's reputation.
Citing Murdoch’s age and health status, Trump's lawyers expressed concerns about the media mogul's potential unavailability for future testimony, stating, "Taken together, these factors weigh heavily in determining that Murdoch would be unavailable for in-person testimony at trial."
The lawsuit amounts to a staggering $10 billion and has been met with staunch support for the Journal's reporting from its parent company, Dow Jones, which is prepared to defend its story. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles has requested Murdoch respond to the deposition request by August 4.
Details surrounding the alleged letter included descriptions of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman, reportedly included as part of a fictitious dialogue between Trump and Epstein. Trump has refuted the claims, insisting, "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures," following the article's publication.
This dispute occurs amid ongoing scrutiny regarding the Epstein case, which has entangled several high-profile individuals. Trump has previously suggested that his name may have been placed in Epstein-related documents by former officials, Merrick Garland and James Comey, without providing evidence for his claims. Both Garland and Comey have not responded to these allegations.
As the legal battle unfolds, the implications of Trump's relationship with Epstein and the nature of the Wall Street Journal article continue to draw public attention and speculation.
