Overview

• Trump’s $10 billion suit challenges a July 17 Wall Street Journal article alleging he sent Jeffrey Epstein a suggestive 2003 birthday letter with an explicit drawing.
• In a July 28 court filing, Trump’s lawyers argued Murdoch’s advanced age and recent health scares risk his availability at trial and sought a de bene esse deposition within 15 days.
• The motion also demands Murdoch’s internal communications—including texts, messaging logs and call records from July 10–25—to establish actual malice in the Journal’s decision to publish.
• Murdoch has formally opposed the request, and U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles ordered his lawyers to file a response by August 4.
• Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal, has affirmed confidence in its reporting and pledged to contest the lawsuit vigorously.