President Donald Trump has requested a court-ordered deposition from Rupert Murdoch as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit related to a Wall Street Journal report about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

According to Reuters, the President specifically asked the court to set a deadline of the 15th for Murdoch's testimony.

President Trump has struggled to contain the political fallout from his administration's handling of the Epstein affair, and reports about his relationship with the deceased billionaire have persisted amidst ongoing controversy.

The Wall Street Journal recently published a story about a 2003 Epstein birthday card that purportedly bore President Trump's name.

Trump immediately denounced the article and filed a lawsuit against the newspaper, which is owned by Murdoch.

The two men had previously maintained a degree of friendship, but their relationship has long since cooled after Trump publicly criticized Murdoch's other outlet, Fox News, for biased editing against him.

US NNP=Reporter Sung Ku Hong info@newsandpost.com