3 months ago
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Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump have agreed to pause the media mogul’s deposition in a libel lawsuit brought by the US president last month over a story published by The Wall Street Journal detailing Trump’s dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.
Court filings released on Tuesday say the two parties reached an agreement to hold off on Murdoch’s deposition until after The Wall Street Journal’s motion to dismiss the case has been heard.
Donald Trump has filed legal action against Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation over a story published in The Wall Street Journal.Credit: Nine
Trump had initially sought Murdoch’s deposition to be expedited, citing the 94-year-old’s age and health, which some media outlets have labelled a stunt.
The parties have also agreed not to engage in discovery in the meantime, filings released by the Florida Court said.
The agreement was reached on Monday evening according to US media outlet Politico. The likely outcome is that Murdoch, also facing a resumption of his own family legal battle in Nevada this year, will not appear in court for at least several months, and would only need to if the Journal’s motion to dismiss the case fails.
The filing also said Murdoch would appear in a mutually agreed location, in person, within 30 days, should the motion fail, and that he has agreed to provide “regularly scheduled updates to the Plaintiff [Trump] regarding his health”, including a mechanism for him to alert the president if there is a material change in his health.
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Trump brought the $US10 billion ($15 billion) suit last month after The Journal published a story reporting that he had signed a letter to Epstein, the disgraced Wall Street financier for his 50th birthday, which included a drawing of a naked woman with his signature attached.
The president named Murdoch, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson and the two reporters responsible for the article as defendants. The company intends to defend the reporting.
