On July 2, 2026, Judge Thomas Barber of the Middle District of Florida granted summary judgment in favor of the Washington Post in the defamation lawsuit brought by Trump Media & Tech Group Corp. (TMTG). The suit challenged a May 13, 2023 article reporting that TMTG, founded by former President Donald Trump, received $8 million in loans from ES Family Trust, an obscure financial entity.

The article, part of ongoing coverage of TMTG's social media platform efforts, also reported that TMTG had agreed to pay and paid a $240,000 finder's fee to Entoro Securities, a brokerage linked to the CEO of TMTG's prospective merger partner, Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). According to the article, neither the loan nor the finder's fee was disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or DWAC shareholders.

TMTG filed suit claiming nine false and defamatory statements, later narrowed to two statements related to the finder's fee. TMTG contended it never paid or agreed to pay the $240,000 finder's fee. However, the article cited internal TMTG documents provided by whistleblower Will Wilkerson, including a referral fee agreement and invoice indicating that in January 2022, Trump Media agreed to pay a cash referral fee equal to 3 percent of the $8 million loan to Entoro Securities.

The court's order grants summary judgment to the Post, with a full opinion expected in the coming weeks. Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell thoroughly investigated the article prior to publication.

Sources