Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Rupert Murdoch and News Corp., Dow Jones as well as two Wall Street Journal journalists. This is a result of a report that revealed a risque email allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
Court documents state that the suit was filed at a federal court in south Florida and accuses Murdoch and Murdoch’s parent company of libel and slander.
The specifics of the complaint have not been made public yet, but it comes just a day following the Wall Street Journal’s report which reignited the controversy surrounding Trump’s connections to the disgraced banker.
WSJ Report reveals Provocative Letter
The Wall Street Journal published a letter that Trump wrote to Epstein in 2003, celebrating his 50th birthday.
The report states that the letter was typed with a woman’s sketch as a border, then Trump signed it and added the note “Happy birthday — May every day bring you a new wonderful secret”.
According to reports, the letter is part of an album that was assembled for Epstein by his associates. This included convicted sexual offender Ghislaine Maxiwell.
Trump threatens to sue over letter he calls “fake”
Trump’s team and Murdoch repeatedly lobbied News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, WSJ Editor Emma Tucker and News Corp CEO Rupert Thomson in the hours leading up to publication. They called the accusations “false and malicious”.
Trump, after the publication of the article, denounced it on Truth Social, insisting that the letter had been fabricated, and that neither he nor the illustrator used the language in the letter.
He said he was “going to sue Murdoch and his dreadful newspaper” for their actions.
Murdoch, WSJ and other media outlets decline to comment publicly
Murdoch, News Corp., and Dow Jones have declined to make any comments on this lawsuit or report.
Inquiries about the reaction of President Obama were not answered immediately by White House officials.
Epstein’s fallout, DOJ Memo
This lawsuit comes as the Trump Administration tries to deal with repercussions of a Department of Justice/FBI memo that said there was no “client list” substantiated linked to Epstein, or any credible evidence of extortion involving notable figures.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General of Florida, noted in early 2017 that she was reviewing a “client list”, further fueling political and speculative tension.
The next steps of the legal dispute are still unclear
It’s unclear how fast the Southern District of Florida will be able to move the case forward with the details under seal.
Experts in law say that the highly publicized legal dispute highlights the tense relationship between Trump’s media empire and Murdoch.
The Wall Street Journal insists that it will stand by its reports, while Trump promises to take the case to court and calls for Murdoch to appear.
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