On July 2, 2026, Judge Thomas Barber of the Middle District of Florida granted summary judgment to the Washington Post in the defamation case brought by Trump Media & Tech Group Corp. (TMTG) against WP Co. LLC. The lawsuit stemmed from 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 alleging nine false and defamatory statements, later narrowing the claim to two statements about the finder's fee. TMTG contended that it never paid or agreed to pay the $240,000 finder's fee. However, the article cited internal documents from whistleblower and TMTG co-founder 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.

Washington Post reporter Drew Harwell thoroughly investigated the article before publication. The court's full opinion is expected to be released in the coming days or weeks.

Sources