Trump, Murdoch agree to pause WSJ case deposition until after dismissal ruling

<p><img src="https://images.axios.com/-8C5YMUPEFPmB7V0H5MxSzY1J8E=/1227x123:8110x399…; alt="1754367838051.jpeg"></p><div><div><p>President <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump">Trump</a&gt; and Rupert Murdoch reached a deal Monday to postpone the media mogul's deposition in a libel lawsuit related to the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/18/wall-street-journal-trump-epstein-lett… Street Journal</a> publishing a report on an <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/25/epstein-birthday-letter-book-allegatio… birthday book</a>, per court filings.</p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>Trump's lawyers had raised concerns about Murdoch's age and health when they <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.693830/gov.us…; a federal court in Florida last week to expedite the 94-year-old's deposition, but the deal postpones this until after the outlet's upcoming motion to dismiss the case.</p></div><div><ul><li>Now, neither Murdoch nor the 79-year-old Trump are likely to be deposed for months, per Politico's Josh Gerstein, who first <a href="https://x.com/joshgerstein/status/1952580097195602228">reported</a&gt; on Monday's filing in Miami.</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in: </strong>"Until Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Complaint is adjudicated, the Parties agree not to engage in discovery," according to the <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26040084-trumpmurdoch080425pdf/… the WSJ's motion to dismiss Trump's lawsuit is denied, Murdoch would appear in person for a deposition within 30 days of such a ruling.</li><li>Murdoch must provide a sworn declaration about his current health condition within three days of a court order approving the agreement and the Australian-born mogul has agreed to provide regular updates on his health, per the filing.</li></ul><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>Trump is <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/18/wall-street-journal-trump-epstein-lett… Murdoch</a>, the WSJ, its owner Dow Jones, its parent company News Corp. and others over the Journal report last month about a "<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/18/trump-epstein-wsj-murdoch-sue-letter">…; birthday letter</a> that the outlet said bore the president's name. </p><span></span><ul><li>Trump called the letter "FAKE," but the WSJ and Dow Jones stand by the reporting and have vowed to vigorously defend against any lawsuit.</li><li>Representatives for the White House, the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and Murdoch's News Corporation did not immediately respond to Axios' early Tuesday requests for comment.</li></ul><p><strong>More from Axios:</strong> </p></div></div>