The Wall Street Journal asked a US judge on Monday to dismiss President Donald Trump’s lawsuit alleging the paper defamed him in a July 17 article asserting Trump’s name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, calling the case a threat to freedom of speech.
“This meritless lawsuit threatens to chill the speech of those who dare to publish content that the President does not like,” lawyers for the Journal and its billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch wrote in a court filing.
The lawsuit is one of several Trump has filed in recent months against major media outlets over reporting he has characterised as unfair or false.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
A White House spokesperson referred to Trump’s personal lawyers on the case, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump filed the lawsuit on July 18, as his administration faced criticism from its conservative base and congressional Democrats over its handling of the Epstein case. The Justice Department in early July said it would not make public files from its sex-trafficking investigation into Epstein, reneging on earlier promises from Trump and his allies to do so.
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The lawsuit is one of several Trump, a Republican, has filed in recent months against major media outlets over reporting he has characterised as unfair or false. That has led to concern among Democrats and press freedom advocates that he is seeking to use defamation cases to quell critical coverage.
To prevail in defamation cases, public figures like Trump must meet the “actual malice” standard, meaning they must prove not only that a public statement about them was false but also that the media outlet or person who made the statement knew or should have known it was false.
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In his lawsuit, Trump called the alleged birthday greeting “fake” and sought $US10 billion ($15.1 billion) in damages for what he called damage to his reputation. News Corp’s Dow Jones, the Journal’s parent, defended the accuracy of its reporting.
