President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its recent publication of a story linking the President to the former financier and sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein.
The 18-page complaint says the story has caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” for the president, demanding billions of dollars in damages.
“Defendants concocted this story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity and deceptively portray him in a false light,” the lawsuit states.
Trump threatened to sue the outlet in an interview ahead of publication, and he doubled down on the threat after the story was published Thursday evening.
The Journal reviewed an album containing 50th birthday greetings to Epstein from his associates in 2003. That album was compiled by Epstein’s friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for child trafficking.
“Pages from the leather-bound album—assembled before Epstein was first arrested in 2006—are among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages,” the publication stated. “It’s unclear if any of the pages are part of the Trump administration’s recent review.”
One of those well-wishers was Trump, who sent Epstein a birthday letter that contained a drawing of a nude woman:
The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter concludes: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has denied writing the letter and warned he would sue the outlet.
The suit names the two reporters, The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, News Corp and Rupert Murdoch, who controls the company, as defendants. It also names News Corp’s CEO, Robert Thomson.
“This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“I hope Rupert and his ‘friends’ are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case,” he continued.
The Justice Department last week released a memo concluding there was no evidence suggesting the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender kept a “client list” to blackmail high-profile individuals. The memo also found no evidence to suggest foul play in Epstein’s death, which had previously been ruled a suicide.
The memo spurred fierce backlash from many Trump supporters, who had long called on the government to release material on Epstein that they argue would expose wrongdoing at the highest level of elite circles.
If Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal could settle without a trial and give Dominion Voting Systems (a $20 million/year revenue company, according to Zippia) a $870 million settlement. It follows that a suit by President Trump and the US Government about defamation should be worth easily ten times that amount. Hopefully, Murdoch and the WSJ will settle this quickly so they and the Government can put it behind them.