Trump asks for swift deposition of Murdoch in Epstein defamation case

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - Donald Trump on Monday asked a U.S. court to order a swift deposition for billionaire Rupert Murdoch in the U.S. president's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its July 17 article asserting Trump's name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Republican president on July 18 sued the Journal, its owners, including Murdoch, and the reporters who wrote the story, which said Trump's letter included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.

Trump's lawsuit called the alleged birthday greeting "fake" and said the Journal published its article to harm the president's reputation. In a court filing on Monday, Trump's lawyers said Trump told Murdoch before the article was published that the letter referenced in the story was fake, and Murdoch told Trump he would "take care of it."

"Murdoch's direct involvement further underscores Defendants' actual malice," Trump's lawyers wrote, referring to the legal standard Trump must clear to prevail in his lawsuit.

His lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami to compel Murdoch, 94, to testify within 15 days. Gayles ordered Murdoch to respond by August 4.

Dow Jones, the Journal's publisher, declined to comment. Dow Jones has said the Journal stood by its reporting and would vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

Neither Dow Jones owner News Corp NWSA.O nor a spokesperson for Murdoch immediately responded to requests for comment.

The article was published amid growing criticism from Trump's conservative supporters and congressional Democrats over the administration's decision not to release additional documents from the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Trump and Epstein were friends for years before what Trump has called a falling out.

Legal experts say Trump faces a high bar in proving the Journal defamed him, let alone collecting the $10 billion in damages he is seeking. The "actual malice" standard means Trump must prove not only that the article was false, but also that the Journal knew or should have known it was false.