US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch, accusing him of defamation, according to information in the electronic database of the court for the Southern District of Florida.
The case, in which Murdoch and the media holding News Corporation, which owns The Wall Street Journal, are defendants, is dated July 18. The defendants in the case include two journalists from the newspaper who wrote an article about Trump's letter to the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of fornication with minors.
The lawsuit itself has not yet been made public by the court, but the electronic database shows that the case concerns defamation.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Trump sent a letter with a hand-drawn nude woman as an anniversary gift to the financier. The drawing was accompanied by a congratulatory note. In response to this publication, the president announced his intention to sue the newspaper and Murdoch, noting that he had informed the press in advance that this information was false.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche have filed a motion with a New York court to release transcripts of witness statements given before a grand jury in the Epstein case.
“At the direction of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice is requesting that the court release transcripts of the grand jury testimony related to this indictment“, the document published in the electronic database of the Southern District of New York says.
The motion notes “the Trump administration's desire for transparency“ and the significant “public interest in the Epstein investigation“.
The grand jury issues subpoenas to persons of interest, hears their testimony, and decides whether there is sufficient evidence to bring charges.
Epstein was arrested by New York State law enforcement on July 6, 2019. Prosecutors said they had evidence that between 2002 and 2005, he received dozens of underage girls, the youngest of whom was 14 years old, at his Manhattan home. Epstein's circle of friends and acquaintances includes a large number of former and current officials not only in the United States but also in many other countries, including former heads of state, major entrepreneurs, and show business stars. The financier's criminal prosecution in the United States was dropped after his suicide in a prison cell on August 10, 2019.