Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (TMTG), the company that owns former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social social media platform, has brought a $3.78 billion lawsuit against the Washington Post alleging that the news outlet defamed the company and those who run it.
The suit, which was brought against the Post in Sarasota County, Florida, alleges that a May 13 article published in the newspaper, which accused the company of breaking the law and committing securities fraud, posed an “existential threat” to the new company as it grows.
According to TMTG lawyers, the Washington Post deliberately made false statements in a piece titled “Trust Linked to Porn-Friendly Bank Could Gain A Stake in Trump’s Truth Social.”
What the Washington Post Article Claims
The Washington Post piece claims that an “obscure financial entity with connections to a Caribbean-island bank that bills itself as a top payment service for adult entertainment sites” could soon gain a large stake in Trump’s media company if a merger deal goes ahead. The outlet also claims that neither TMTG nor the ES Family Trust have disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission or to shareholders a fee of $240,000 paid to organize an $8 million loan from the trust.
The piece cites New York University law professor Michael Ohlrogge, who said that the deal should have been disclosed already.
“This is definitely something that could cause problems,” the professor said, adding that if the SEC knew about the loan, it would “insist that it be disclosed to shareholders.”
The article’s claim that Trump’s company borrowed money from the trust was based on information provided by former TMTG employee Will Wilkerson.
What Trump’s Lawyers Say
Trump attorneys say that the report was an “egregious hit piece,” and claim that Wilkerson, the source of the claims made by the Post, was fired by the company for cause.
Wilkerson then allegedly “began to concoct and publicly shop false stories about TMTG to numerous media outlets.”
The suit accused the Post of defaming TMTG by alleging that those running the company committed securities fraud and deliberately concealed information from the SEC, and also accused the newspaper of engaging in a “years-long crusade” against the company “characterized by the concealment of relevant information in its possession.”
“WaPo’s false criminal charges exposed TMTG to public ridicule, contempt and distrust, and injured TMTG’s business and reputation,” the suit continues.
Spokespeople for the Washington Post have yet to comment on the suit.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.