(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump’s attorney said Rupert Murdoch is “not really treating him all that fairly” as Trump filed a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the media mogul and News Corp over a Wall Street Journal report linking Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
Alejandro Brito, who is representing Trump in the defamation suit, told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” on Tuesday that despite their long alliance, Murdoch isn’t “too much of a buddy” given the Journal’s publication of what Trump claims is a fabricated letter.
The lawsuit, filed Friday, targets Murdoch, News Corp and the Journal’s parent company over Thursday’s report about Trump’s relationship with the deceased financier and convicted sex trafficker.
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“If he’s his buddy, his buddy is not really treating him all that fairly or ethically or responsibly by … allowing this article to be written,” Brito said.
The Journal reported it uncovered a birthday album assembled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003 by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring in Epstein’s abuse of minors. The album allegedly contained a “bawdy” letter bearing Trump’s name with a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman and text concluding “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump vehemently denies writing the letter, calling it fake on social media: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” Trump posted, though he has previously created at least one basic sketch of the New York City skyline sold for charity.
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Brito said Trump and his legal team contacted the Journal before publication, seeking transparency about the letter and requesting to examine it. He said the newspaper provided a “stiff arm” and refused to share the document or give Trump “the benefit of the doubt.”
“We have no transparency with respect to the letter that The Wall Street Journal claims to have,” Brito said. “The timing is more than suspect, considering the fact that this card, or this letter, was purportedly authored back in 2003 and it really is obvious that it is coming out now for reasons that are malicious.”
The lawsuit alleges actual malice and reckless disregard for truth under the Times v. Sullivan standard for defamation cases involving public figures. Trump’s complaint contends “the supposed letter is fake and the Defendants knew it when they chose to deliberately defame President Trump.”
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Trump had threatened the legal action on social media before filing suit.
“I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper,” Trump posted Thursday evening about Murdoch. He followed up Friday morning, writing: “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ.”
Murdoch’s media empire, including Fox News, has been instrumental in Trump’s political success and their relatioinship.
When asked why Trump continues using Fox News if he considers Murdoch’s actions so harmful, Brito deflected, saying he couldn’t speak for the president on that matter.
Trump has been open about contacting Murdoch directly before the story’s publication in an attempt to stop it from running.
NewsNation partner The Hill contributed to this report.
