From Judge Tom Barber (M.D. Fla.) in Trump Media & Tech. Group Corp. v. WP Company LLC:
This lawsuit for defamation by Plaintiff Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. ("TMTG") against Defendant WP Company LLC (the "Post") arises from an article titled "Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in Trump's Truth Social," published by the Post on May 13, 2023 …. The second amended complaint narrows TMTG's defamation claim to two statements from the Post's article relating to a purported finder's fee paid to Entoro Securities to secure an $8 million loan. Those statements are:
- "The companies also have not disclosed to shareholders or the SEC that Trump Media paid a $240,000 finder's fee for helping to arrange the $8 million loan deal with ES Family Trust"; and
- "The recipient of that fee was an outside brokerage associated with Patrick Orlando, then Digital World's CEO"
TMTG alleges these statements were false and were made with actual malice, that is, with knowledge they were false or with reckless disregard as to whether they were false….
The Post's article purported to be based on sources that included internal documents shared with the Post by former TMTG officer Will Wilkerson. The article did not point to any witness statement or written confirmation that TMTG made the finder's fee payment, but it did refer to an invoice from Entoro and a referral fee agreement calling for the payment.
