Trump Files Fourth Lawsuit Against the Wall Street Journal, Asks Court to Accept Birthday Card Be Read Aloud in Full at Every Hearing
A federal court dismisses a lawsuit over a birthday letter for the fourth time, and the plaintiff responds by scheduling a reading of the letter in every courtroom in the country.
Donald Trump has filed a fourth defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, and his legal team has announced that the birthday letter at the centre of the dispute will now be read aloud, in full, at the opening of every federal court session in the United States. The reading begins Monday in Miami, where U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles has dismissed the case three times.
The Justice Department has issued guidance requiring courthouse staff to pause proceedings for the reading, which takes approximately fourteen minutes per letter. Clerks in six states have been issued microphones. A federal marshal in Ohio described the new schedule as "a considerable inconvenience to everyone including the jury, which is not sitting in this case, and the bailiff, who was asked to hold the card."
Lawyers for the plaintiff say the reading is intended to demonstrate that the letter is "warm, personal and not the kind of thing a person would write to someone he did not know well." The judge's ruling has so far found the opposite, but the team says the courts are "not equipped to appreciate tone." Court reporters in Florida have been asked to transcribe each reading in italics.
Officials at the Department of Transportation have announced that road signs on interstate highways will display a single line from the letter during rush hour, beginning in March. The Federal Aviation Administration has asked pilots to refrain from reading the letter aloud on approach. Post offices in three cities have stopped accepting birthday cards pending review.
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