Overview

• Trump’s legal team filed a motion in Miami federal court requesting an expedited deposition within 15 days to secure Murdoch’s testimony early in discovery.
• U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles has ordered Murdoch’s lawyers to respond by August 4, with the case’s discovery schedule still undetermined and no trial date set.
• The filing alleges that after Trump warned Murdoch the letter was fake, the media mogul promised to “take care of it,” underscoring claims of editorial involvement and actual malice.
• In his $10 billion defamation suit, Trump accuses Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal and two reporters of wrongly reporting that he sent a bawdy 2003 birthday letter and sketch to Jeffrey Epstein.
• Representatives for the Journal, Dow Jones and News Corp have affirmed confidence in their reporting and pledged to defend vigorously against the lawsuit.