The media company behind former President Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is suing The Washington Post for defamation after the news outlet published an article on May 13 accusing the company of securities fraud and other illegal actions.
The lawsuit, brought by Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG) in Florida’s Sarasota County, seeks $3.78 billion in damages from the Washington Post for the article, which TMTG alleges was false and defamatory, posing an “existential threat” to the company.
TMTG claims that the Washington Post article in question, “Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in Trump’s Truth Social,” contains many false statements concerning TMTG.
The Washington Post article casts aspersions on TMGT’s business practices, stating that the company has failed to disclose investments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) numerous times.
“[TMTG] borrowed money from a bank best known for servicing the adult entertainment, pledged a stake in the company for the loan and didn’t tell the SEC,” the article says.
The source of the Washington Post article was former TMTG employee Will Wilkerson, whom the lawsuit says was terminated for cause and then “began to concoct and publicly shop false stories about TMTG to numerous media outlets.”
TMTG’s lawsuit asserts that the article defamed the company by alleging TMTG committed securities fraud and concealed information from the SEC and shareholders.
TMTG denies the truth of all the article’s statements, claiming that the company did not conceal or fail to disclose to the SEC any of its financial dealings.
“WaPo has been on a years-long crusade against TMTG characterized by the concealment of relevant information in its possession—a bitterly ironic truth for a publication whose motto is ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness‘,” the lawsuit says.
“WaPo’s false criminal charges exposed TMTG to public ridicule, contempt and distrust, and injured TMTG’s business and reputation,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Washington Post did not immediately respond for comment on the lawsuit.
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