"Baseless Lawsuit... Should Not Be Allowed"
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a major US daily, reported on allegations linking US President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In response, President Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit. However, Rupert Murdoch, former chairman of News Corp, which owns the WSJ, submitted a response to the court on the 22nd (local time), arguing that the dismissal of the lawsuit was justified. Murdoch also asserted that the article in question was factual.
On July 17, the WSJ published an article stating that "a letter from President Trump, featuring a drawing of a nude woman and his signature, was included in 'Epstein's Birthday Book,' an album of letters compiled by friends to celebrate convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003."
The very next day, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, claiming that the article was false and defamatory. He insisted that neither the drawing of the nude woman nor the signature was his.
The defendants in the lawsuit include the two reporters who wrote the article, Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the WSJ, its parent company News Corp, executives and employees of these companies, and former News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch.
In their response filed on the 22nd, Murdoch and the other defendants argued that the content of the WSJ report challenged by President Trump was factual and did not constitute defamation. They further contended that Trump's lawsuit amounted to "an affront to the First Amendment," which guarantees freedom of speech and the press, and urged the court to dismiss the case.
The defendants pointed out that the Epstein Birthday Book, recently made public by Congress, contains the letter attributed to President Trump as reported by the WSJ on July 17.
They also argued that, since President Trump publicly acknowledged and boasted about his friendship with Epstein in 2003, reporting on the existence of such a relationship could not be considered defamatory. The defendants noted that a magazine article published three months before Epstein received the birthday book quoted President Trump as saying he had known Epstein for 15 years, highlighting their relationship.
The defendants stated, "The President of the United States has filed a lawsuit to silence a news organization for reporting the truth, as proven by documents released by Congress." They argued, "This baseless lawsuit poses a risk of chilling the speech of those who publish content the President finds unfavorable and therefore should not be allowed."
Meanwhile, on the 19th, Judge Steven Merryday of the Tampa Division of the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida ordered President Trump to rewrite and resubmit his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, stating that the complaint was vague and excessively lengthy, and must comply with federal civil procedure rules.
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