US President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge to compel Rupert Murdoch to sit for a deposition within 15 days in connection with his defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Trump filed the lawsuit on July 18, alleging that the Journal’s July 17 article falsely claimed his name appeared on a 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.
The Journal report described the letter as containing a “sexually suggestive drawing”. Trump insists no such letter exists.
Trump: ‘The letter is fake’
Calling the report “fake” and defamatory, Trump’s lawsuit alleges that the Journal published the story with the intent to damage his reputation. In a Monday court filing, Trump’s lawyers stated: “President Trump told Mr. Murdoch before the article was published that the letter referenced in the story was fake, and Mr. Murdoch said he would ‘take care of it.’”
The filing claims this direct interaction points to “actual malice”—a legal threshold Trump must meet to succeed in his defamation case.
Murdoch’s role under scrutiny
The 94-year-old media mogul is listed among the defendants, along with WSJ reporters and the publication’s corporate owner, News Corp. Trump’s legal team emphasized Murdoch’s role in the matter, writing: “Murdoch’s direct involvement further underscores Defendants’ actual malice.”
Judge Darrin Gayles, presiding over the case in the Southern District of Florida, has ordered Murdoch to respond to the request by August 4.
Article published amid Epstein file pressure
The lawsuit comes at a politically sensitive time. The WSJ article ran as pressure mounted on both the Trump administration and the Justice Department to release more information from the Epstein investigation. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The article and ensuing legal battle have drawn attention from both Trump’s conservative base and congressional Democrats, many of whom are demanding transparency on the full scope of Epstein’s connections and dealings.