Trump Sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch Over Epstein Birthday Letter Report
Miami, FL — President Donald Trump has filed a sweeping $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent company News Corp, its owner Rupert Murdoch, and two of the paper’s reporters. The lawsuit accuses the media conglomerate of publishing what Trump calls a “false, malicious, and defamatory” story that claimed he sent Jeffrey Epstein a lewd birthday letter and drawing in 2003.
The suit, filed Friday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, targets not only the Journal and its corporate parents, but also reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, who authored the article. Trump, who is currently serving his second term as President, has called the report a “complete fabrication” and has demanded the immediate retraction of the piece.
The Alleged Letter and Drawing
The Journal’s report alleged that Trump contributed a letter to a birthday album organized by Ghislaine Maxwell — now serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking — in celebration of Epstein’s 50th birthday. The letter, according to the article, included a sexually suggestive drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature scrawled below the waist in a manner described as mimicking pubic hair.
“Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter allegedly concluded.
Trump has categorically denied ever sending or writing such a letter, and the lawsuit claims the media outlets never presented the alleged evidence to him or his legal team prior to publication.
“Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but obviously did not have the power to do so,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Instead they are going with a false, malicious, defamatory story anyway.”
Legal and Political Fallout
This is the first media lawsuit Trump has filed while in office during his second term, though it follows a history of combative legal action against journalists. In recent years, Trump has secured more than $30 million in settlements from prior lawsuits against major media outlets, including ABC News and Paramount.
The new lawsuit seeks a staggering $10 billion in damages, a figure that many legal analysts believe is symbolic and unlikely to be awarded.
“Asking for $10 billion for each count almost sounds comical,” said Professor Roy Gutterman, director of the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University.
“But the plaintiff is going to have to prove that the Wall Street Journal published this story knowing it was false — which does not seem plausible, either.”
Gutterman and others noted the reputation of the Wall Street Journal as one of the most respected news organizations globally, and highlighted the legal standard Trump must meet to win a libel case as a public figure: proof of actual malice.
Allies Defend, Critics Warn
Trump’s Vice President, J.D. Vance, rushed to the president’s defense in a scathing post on X (formerly Twitter):
“Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullshit. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing?”
But advocates for press freedom sounded alarms over what they see as another aggressive attempt by Trump to intimidate the media.
“This kind of lawsuit has a chilling effect on investigative journalism,” said a representative from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“The pattern is clear: sue first, and let the court process wear them down.”
Epstein Files and MAGA Fallout
The lawsuit comes as Trump faces a wave of backlash from his own political base over his administration’s refusal to release additional Epstein-related documents. Many MAGA-aligned influencers have accused Trump of protecting powerful names, fueling speculation that has only intensified with the emergence of the alleged letter.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week found that 69% of Americans believe the federal government is hiding key information about Epstein’s client network, while only 6% disagreed. The pressure on Trump intensified after Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo earlier this month stating that no formal “client list” exists.
In a bid to calm the uproar, Trump announced Friday that he had directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony related to Epstein’s prosecution — a rare legal move that experts say is unlikely to succeed due to the traditionally strict secrecy rules around grand jury proceedings.
“The ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein,”
Trump posted,
“demands that the American people see these materials.”
Trump and Murdoch: A Fractured Alliance
The case also represents a sharp fracture in Trump’s long and complicated relationship with Rupert Murdoch. While Murdoch’s Fox News has largely championed Trump’s agenda, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board has occasionally been critical. Despite a recent Oval Office meeting in February, where Trump publicly praised Murdoch as “legendary,” the relationship now appears strained.
If the lawsuit proceeds, it could mark a landmark legal battle between a sitting president and one of the most powerful media empires in the world — with implications far beyond any single article or editorial.
