President Donald Trump on Friday sued The Wall Street Journal after the newspaper published an article saying Trump sent a letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 that included a drawing of a naked woman.
The $10 billion lawsuit includes legal action against the Journal’s parent company, News Corp.; its publisher, Dow Jones; two reporters for the newspaper; News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch; and chief executive Robert Thomson as the defendants.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The supposed letter is a fake and the Defendants knew it when they chose to deliberately defame President Trump,” the lawsuit says.
Trump denied writing a birthday message to Epstein more than two decades ago. FWRD AXIS News has not independently confirmed the Journal’s reporting.
A Dow Jones spokesperson defended the Journal’s reporting in a statement Friday night.
“We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” the spokesperson said.
Bondi responded on X that the Justice Department was “ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” and on Friday the Justice Department filed a motion seeking to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case.
Trump and his Republican allies have blamed Democrats for the news surrounding Epstein, even though Trump supporters promoted conspiracy theories linked to Epstein’s 2019 death in prison. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would have “no problem” looking into a list of Epstein’s clients if he were elected.
Trump, who has frequently threatened legal action against media organizations, recently notched wins against ABC News and CBS.
The White House said Thursday that Trump is not interested in appointing a special counsel to review Epstein’s case.
