Trump lists Murdoch’s ailments in request for speedy testimony
Donald Trump’s lawyers have filed a motion requesting Rupert Murdoch be deposed within 15 days in the A$15 billion lawsuit the president has brought against Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal, citing the mogul’s advanced age and listing multiple health issues.
In a motion filed in the US District Court overnight, Trump’s legal team argues that the deposition of Murdoch, founder of News Corp, which owns the Wall Street Journal, should be expedited because the media mogul “is 94 years old, has suffered from multiple health issues throughout his life, is believed to have suffered recent significant health scares, and is presumed to live in New York.”
Deposition is the legal name for a formal process in which a witness is questioned under oath outside of court, typically before trial, with the testimony recorded for later use in proceedings.
The filing assumes that Murdoch will be unable to offer a in-person testimony at trial, and outlines a number of his health concerns.
It claims Murdoch collapsed and fainted at breakfast with News Corp journalist Rebekah Brooks in February; was hospitalised in 2022 with “a serious case of COVID-19″; and has “suffered a broken back, seizures, two bouts of pneumonia, atrial fibrillation, and a torn Achilles tendon,” within the last five years.
The filing also argues: “Separately, it bears noting that Murdoch was born on March 11, 1931—he is 94 years old.”
Rupert Murdoch in 2017
Trump filed suit against the Wall Street Journal on July 18, following the previous day’s publication of an article, titled: ‘Jeffrey Epstein’s friends sent him bawdy letters for a 50th birthday album. One was from Donald Trump’.
The article claims Trump sent Epstein a birthday note in 2003 which featured a drawing of the “outline of a naked woman”, and the note: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Epstein pleaded guilty to child prostitution charges in 2008.
Trump issued a denial to the Wall Street Journal ahead of the publication, writing: “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
He also warned the publication he would sue if the article was published. “I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else.”
Trump later reiterated his innocence on Truth Social, asserting: “I don’t draw pictures”.
Aside from Murdoch, Trump is also suing News Corp, Dow Jones (the publisher of WSJ), News Corp’s CEO Robert Thomson, and Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, the two journalists who wrote the article.
Donald Trump
Monday’s filing reiterates the argument the Wall Street Journal article “maligned [Trump’s] character and integrity and portrayed him in a false light”.
It also claims Trump spoke directly with Murdoch ahead of the publication and advised him the letter was “fake”, to which Murdoch allegedly told Trump he “would take care of it”.
The filing further argues “Murdoch’s direct involvement further underscores … actual malice and intent behind the decision to publish the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about President Trump identified in the Complaint.”
Dow Jones has defended “the rigor and accuracy of our reporting” in a statement issued after the lawsuit was filed, saying it “will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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