Rupert Murdoch asked to quickly give testimony in Trump's lawsuit against Wall Street Journal

MEDIA MOGUL RUPERT Murdoch has been asked to give a deposition within the next 15 days by lawyers representing US President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal.

An application was made at a federal court today seeking that media owner Murdoch provide sworn testimony quickly, with Trump’s lawyers citing the 94-year-old’s age and physical condition.

Trump is sueing the Wall Street Journal, owned by Murdoch, in the US District Court in Florida over its story reporting on the Republican president’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and alleged child sex trafficker who died in a New York jail in 2019 before trial.

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Citing Murdoch’s age, health and location, the president’s motion to the court today: “Taken together, these factors weigh heavily in determining that Murdoch would be unavailable for in-person testimony at trial.”

A spokesman for Murdoch’s News Corp did not immediately return a request for comment. Trump’s motion said that, in a telephone conversation, Murdoch’s lawyer indicated he would oppose the effort.

Trump said today that he ended his friendship with Epstein and threw the disgraced financier out of his private club in Florida after Epstein betrayed him more than once by hiring people who had worked for him.

He did not say what the people’s jobs were or where they worked, and the White House had no immediate comment.