Trump and his team are up to their ears in legal warfare. It’s about to get even worse.
As a lawyer has explosive news for Donald Trump he couldn’t have seen coming.
Attorney Dershowitz May Testify in Trump’s Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal
Prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz indicated on Sunday that he might testify in President Donald Trump’s legal action against The Wall Street Journal, asserting he could help demonstrate the outlet’s malicious intent. Recently, Trump revealed he had initiated a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over a report alleging he sent a crude birthday letter to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
During an appearance on Sunday Agenda with host Lidia Curanaj, Dershowitz disclosed that the newspaper had contacted him about a supposed letter he sent to Epstein, which they failed to substantiate. “I’ll probably be called as a witness in the case, because they also called me, and they said that you wrote him a letter with a mock cover of Vanity Fair,” Dershowitz told Curanaj.
“And I said, ‘I may have, I don’t remember, this was 23 years ago. Just send me a copy of the letter with my signature and I’ll tell you whether it’s authentic or not,’ and they said they couldn’t do it.” Dershowitz added, “And so they published the story without authenticating it with me, and that will be an important point in trying to prove malice, so I suspect I will be a witness if this case ever goes to trial.”
In a separate defamation case, Trump secured a $15 million settlement from ABC in December 2024, following a lawsuit filed on March 19, 2024. The suit stemmed from remarks by This Week host George Stephanopoulos during a heated March 10 exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Additionally, CBS settled a $10 billion lawsuit from Trump concerning the editing of an October 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s 2024 election opponent, which sparked internal criticism at the network.
Some of Trump’s supporters have expressed dissatisfaction with him and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the management of the Epstein case files, according to Newsweek. Trump responded to the criticism in a Wednesday post on Truth Social and issued a detailed defense of Bondi on July 12 via the platform.
In a Thursday night Truth Social post, Trump announced he had directed Bondi to request court approval to release the grand jury transcripts from the Epstein case. Bondi confirmed in a separate statement that the Department of Justice would seek to unseal the documents on Friday.
Media’s Uneven Treatment of Donald Trump
For years, major media outlets have faced accusations of biased reporting against President Donald Trump, often amplifying unverified claims while downplaying or ignoring similar scrutiny of his political rivals. This pattern has fueled distrust among Trump’s supporters and raised questions about journalistic standards.
During Trump’s first term, outlets like CNN and The New York Times frequently published stories based on anonymous sources alleging misconduct, while comparable allegations against Democratic figures often received less attention. For instance, a 2018 report by the Media Research Center found that 90% of evening news coverage on Trump from major networks was negative, compared to more balanced reporting on other political figures.
The Wall Street Journal’s recent article claiming Trump sent a salacious letter to Jeffrey Epstein exemplifies this trend. Dershowitz’s account suggests the outlet proceeded without verifying key details, a practice critics argue is reckless when targeting Trump. This incident echoes a 2019 CNN report that falsely linked Trump to a Russian bank, later retracted with minimal fanfare.
Trump’s legal victories highlight the media’s vulnerability. His $15 million settlement with ABC in 2024 followed Stephanopoulos’s on-air claim that Trump was found liable for r*pe, a misrepresentation of a civil case. Similarly, CBS’s $10 billion settlement over manipulated interview footage with Kamala Harris demonstrated clearly how selective editing can distort public perception. These cases suggest a pattern of outlets prioritizing sensationalism over accuracy when covering Trump.
The media’s handling of the Epstein case further illustrates this bias. While Trump faced scrutiny for his past association with Epstein, outlets rarely emphasized that other prominent figures, including Bill Clinton, also had documented ties. A 2021 report by The Washington Post noted Clinton’s multiple trips on Epstein’s plane but framed it as less significant than Trump’s connection, despite similar evidence.
Coverage of Trump’s policy decisions often carried a negative slant. His 2017 tax cuts were widely criticized as favoring the wealthy, yet a 2020 CBO report showed middle-class families benefited significantly. Media outlets like MSNBC rarely highlighted these outcomes, focusing instead on speculative downsides. This selective framing extended to Trump’s foreign policy, where his Abraham Accords were downplayed compared to criticism of his North Korea summits.
The disparity in scrutiny extends to Trump’s personal conduct. Outlets like The Atlantic ran extensive pieces on Trump’s alleged moral failings, while similar allegations against figures like Joe Biden or Hunter Biden received less sustained coverage. A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center found that Trump-related stories were 60% more likely to focus on personal controversies than policy achievements.
This uneven treatment has consequences. Polls, like a 2024 Gallup survey, show public trust in media at historic lows, with only 31% of Americans expressing confidence in news accuracy. Trump’s supporters argue this distrust stems from years of perceived unfairness, where outlets amplify minor errors by Trump while excusing larger missteps by his opponents, such as Harris’s shifting policy positions in 2024.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
