- A court docket appears to show President Donald Trump suing News Corp. and Rupert Murdoch.
- But a person close to Trump’s legal team said it wasn’t legitimate. The docket features unusual details.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had written a “bawdy” letter to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday.
A mysterious court docket appears to show that President Donald Trump filed a libel lawsuit Friday against News Corp. and its chairman emeritus, Rupert Murdoch.
But there are signs that something is weird.
The docket, which appears in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, did not include an actual lawsuit an hour after it first appeared.
Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to sue over a Wall Street Journal story that reported that the president had written a “bawdy” letter to Jeffrey Epstein on the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday.
But a person close to Trump’s legal team told Business Insider that the president has not yet filed his lawsuit over The Wall Street Journal report, and that his legal complaint is still in the works.
The Miami court docket features odd details. It says that Trump is a “pro se” plaintiff — meaning someone who is not being represented by a lawyer — even though Trump has many personal lawyers, and he has filed many lawsuits against media organizations in the same district.
The docket also appears to show the personal addresses for Murdoch and for one of the journalists who wrote the story, who are designated as defendants.
The clerk’s office in the Southern District of Florida federal court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Representatives for News Corp., Dow Jones, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
