President Donald Trump is facing a bombshell demand to turn over his medical records as one of his lawsuits against his enemies backfires.
The demand was made in legal papers filed by the board of journalism’s most prestigious prize, the Pulitzer, as part of a defamation lawsuit Trump filed in 2022 over reporting on an investigation into his Russia ties. Now, however, the Pulitzer board’s attorneys have hit back in the most personal way possible for the ailing, 79-year-old president. They have given him 30 days to hand over all tax documents and all documents concerning his medical or psychological health.
The Trump case claimed the Pulitzer board was “perpetuating the absurdly false and defamatory narrative contrived by the President’s political opponents: that he and his campaign somehow colluded with Vladimir Putin and the Russian government to gain advantage in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”
The Pulitzer judges have said the coverage “dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.” And, upon review, the board found that none of the reporting could be “discredited.”
As part of the case, Trump demanded that the prizes for the New York Times and the Washington Post in 2018 be annulled.
Pulitzer Prize board members have now filed counter documents in Okeechobee County, Florida. Law & Crime reports that the president has 30 days from Dec. 11 to respond to the request.
They have jointly demanded all of Trump’s tax returns “from all jurisdictions, including all attachments, schedules, and worksheets” from 2015 to the newest available, documents pointing to “sufficient to show all sources of Your income,” in addition to documents from the same time frame that are “sufficient to show all of Your financial holdings.”
They are also requesting his listed liabilities, as well as his health records and prescription medication history.
A spokesman for President Trump’s legal team told the Daily Beast that the case is about “correcting the record.”
“President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, lies, and smears to account, and he will see this powerhouse lawsuit through to a winning conclusion,” they said.
“This case has always been about correcting the record, revealing the truth, and vindicating the president and his supporters against the lies told to the American people by the Democrats and their PR machine known as ‘legacy media.’”
Trump repeatedly insists he is in great physical and mental health despite a series of high-profile gaffes over the past 11 months, which have been dutifully catalogued by the Daily Beast, followed by other publications, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN.
The president sometimes seems to be held together by Band-Aids of late, with makeup on his right hand also an ever-present. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is repeatedly backed into a corner as she tries to explain away his issues, which also include swollen ankles.
Trump was also caught apparently dozing off during Oval Office and Cabinet meetings, and he can drift off mid-sentence.
Despite boasting that he aced cognitive tests, he has grown weary of fielding questions about his fitness for office. In a lengthy Truth Social missive last week, he said questions of this ilk could be tantamount to “treason” or “sedition.”
He may also be cautious about revealing the true extent of his wealth. He has allowed his two sons, Eric and Don Jr., to front the Trump Organization—a company that fills the family coffers with cash from ventures ranging from cryptocurrency to Trump-themed mobile phones and vodka. Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Trump is worth approximately $5.1 billion.
Trump’s court cases are piling up. The defendants in the Pulitzer case include 20 people from multiple media organizations.
