US President Donald Trump is asking a federal court in Florida to force Rupert Murdoch to give a deposition for the president’s lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal within 15 days, citing the media mogul’s age and physical condition.
Trump sued the Journal, owned by Murdoch, in the US District Court of southern Florida on July 18 for its story reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and alleged child sex trafficker who died in a New York jail in 2019 before trial.
The US president’s motion to the court noted Murdoch is 94 years old, has reportedly suffered several health scares in recent years, and is presumed to live in New York.
READ MORE: Trump reveals claimed reason for fallout with Jeffrey Epstein
“Taken together, these factors weigh heavily in determining that Murdoch would be unavailable for in-person testimony at trial,” Trump’s request to the court said.
Trump filed a $US15.3 billion ($23.6 billion) defamation lawsuit against the Journal and Murdoch because of the newspaper’s article about a sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump’s name that was included in a 2003 album compiled for alleged sex trafficker Epstein’s birthday.
The president has denied having anything to do with it.
The Journal has vowed to fight.
It’s the first time Trump has sued for defamation as a sitting president, and it’s not clear whether any president has done that in the past.
“There’s nothing inherently wrong with a president bringing a libel suit,” said noted free speech attorney Floyd Abrams.
“But this claim certainly seems like nothing more or less than an effort to suppress speech that our president finds discomforting. That’s not why we have libel law. It’s why we have a First Amendment.”
A spokesman for Murdoch’s News Corp. did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s motion said that, in a telephone conversation, Murdoch’s lawyer indicated he would oppose the effort.
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