Murdoch Ignores Trump’s Plea, Continues With Baseless Accusation
Embroiled in a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, the battle is far from impersonal for former President Trump who expressed being personally affected by these accusations. Trump asserts he informed media magnate Rupert Murdoch that an inappropriate birthday salute presumably sent two decades before to the late infamous financier Jeffrey Epstein was, in fact, counterfeit. Despite Trump’s assertion, Murdoch’s Journal persisted with the narrative. Trump has lodged a plea to a federal judge in Miami requesting that Murdoch be compelled to provide his disposition under oath within 15 days of the order. Duly highlighting Murdoch’s elderliness and health issues, Trump’s filing leaves little to the imagination.
Minding the helm as chairman emeritus of News Corp, Rupert Murdoch oversees the corporate parent of the globally recognized Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and other newspapers in the U.K. and Australia. The man in question, Murdoch, has preferred silence over offering any explanations or comments. In a parallel stance, Trump’s legal representation has also refrained from issuing any remarks.
Only a few days in the aftermath of Trump’s suit being filed, the Justice Department informed Trump in May that Epstein’s materials seemed to bear his name among others. However, evidence of such allegations were withheld by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi who, in turn, has openly admitted to briefing Trump on the discovery but refrained from diving into the specifics of his name appearing in the materials.
The two stalwarts, Murdoch and Trump, have shared an acquaintance that sprawls over half a century nurtured within the flamboyant circles of New York City. The self-acclaimed real estate tycoon and the yellow press owner found common ground where Trump’s aspiration for recognition found fertile soil in Murdoch’s penchant for gossip. Over time, the two found themselves walking a path of mutual self-interest and convenience that has extended over a decade—all the way since Trump first threw himself into the presidential race and claimed victory. Trump’s journey to the White House was considerably buoyed by the undeterred support of Fox News personalities, Murdoch’s brain-child since 1996, as well as the pro-Trump stance held by the New York Post and the Journal’s conservative positioned editorials.
However, the road has been far from smooth. Documentation brought to light during lawsuits revealed Murdoch’s private stance towards Trump as anything but respectful. His executives and journalists admitted to each other that they acknowledged Biden’s legitimate victory in the elections. Strangely enough though, they decided against risking alienating Trump’s loyal voter base that makes a significant fraction of their viewership. Murdoch’s bold reporting and refusal to hold back criticism have not particularly been well-received by Trump.
Deep-rooted in the Epstein card controversy, Trump has been insistent in placing the blame on Murdoch. Trump’s stance is clear – he warned Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal about the fabricated nature of the alleged letter from Trump to Epstein. Trump claims to have shared this information with the Journal’s editor-in-chief, along with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The Journal has yet to showcase the alleged birthday greeting from Trump to Epstein, a fact that Trump’s lawyers argue is because such a greeting simply doesn’t exist.
Trump’s original lawsuit states that the Journal celebrated their malicious falsehood to the world, alleging that Murdoch and his CEO orchestrated this move. It seems the Journal’s high-quality pre-publication standards and rigorous post-publication defense have met their match in the face of Trump’s lawyers.
According to Azam, the former News Corp. legal executive, Trump’s efforts appear to be a classic case of calling in an old favor. Attempting to deter old comrade Murdoch from publishing the Epstein card narrative might have gone differently if it concerned a social column in the New York Post, not a news story in the Journal. Regardless, Trump took the chance, reaching out to the newspaper titan, New Yorker to New Yorker.