On Friday, US President Donald Trump sued The Wall Street Journal, its parent News Corp, and its executive management, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch, for an enormous $10 billion defamation in a Miami federal court.
The lawsuit is over a recent report that stated Trump's name featured on a 2003 birthday greeting to Jeffrey Epstein, which was said to have had sexually suggestive language and mentions of mutual secrets.
The legal complaint further includes Dow Jones CEO Robert Thomson and two Wall Street Journal reporters, charging them with publishing false and defamatory allegations that Trump alleges have inflicted immense reputational and financial harm.
Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, took his own life in 2019 while in custody awaiting trial. His association with influential people worldwide — including Trump — has supplied fuel for long-standing conspiracy theories, including among Trump's political base, that the government has covered up Epstein's relationships with elites.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he cut all relationships with Epstein long before the financier first became embroiled in legal issues in 2006. He has rejected any improper associations or connections and strongly objected to the Wall Street Journal article, which has not been independently confirmed by Reuters.
Jumping onto his Truth Social website, Trump announced the lawsuit with trademark vigor:
"We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against all parties concerned in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS 'article' in the useless 'rag' that is, The Wall Street Journal," he said.
"I hope Rupert and his 'friends' are eagerly anticipating the numerous hours of depositions and testimonies which they will be required to give in this case."
Reacting to the lawsuit, a Dow Jones spokesman said:
"We have complete faith in the integrity and accuracy of our reporting, and will aggressively defend against any lawsuit."
Trump's legal complaint refers to the purported letter as a fabrication and calls into question the credibility of the Journal.
Tellingly, the Article does not disclose whether Defendants have received a copy of the letter, have viewed it, have had it read to them, or any other conditions that would otherwise add credibility to the Article," the lawsuit states.
In order to prevail in court, Trump will need to clear the high hurdle of establishing "actual malice" — that the journalists either knew the information was untrue or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
If it succeeds, the sought $10 billion award would overshadow all reported defamation settlements or verdicts ever, including the $1.5 billion judgment against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Fox News' $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
"It's an astronomically high number," said defamation and First Amendment lawyer Jesse Gessin. "It would be the largest defamation verdict in U.S. history."
Epstein Fallout Continues to Rock Washington
The Epstein affair has kept haunting the United States political scene. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that there was no reasonable evidence proving charges that Epstein had blackmailed powerful people or had a so-called client list.
Trump's fans were especially loud in their dismay when his regime backpedaled on its promise to make Epstein-related documents publicly available. But on Thursday, Trump asserted that he had instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek unsealing of grand jury testimony related to Epstein's prosecution.
The Justice Department retaliated by filing a Friday motion in Manhattan federal court asking to unseal grand jury transcripts connected to both Epstein and his former partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on several counts of facilitating Epstein's exploitation of underage girls. Maxwell is now appealing her conviction and 20-year sentence to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche penned in the filing:
"Public officials, legislators, pundits, and average citizens are still intensely interested and care deeply about the Epstein case. Because, after all, Jeffrey Epstein is America's most notorious pedophile."
Blanche further explained that any public publication of documents would omit victim-identifying information to ensure their privacy. There is no assurance, though, that the judge will allow the unsealing, and many of Trump's supporters remain unconvinced that the release will meet their calls for outright transparency.
Controversial Birthday Message at the Center
The Wall Street Journal says the letter supposedly signed by Trump was part of a leather-bound birthday album made for Epstein. The letter reportedly contained several lines typed out between an outline of a naked woman drawn with a bold black pen.
The letter supposedly concluded with the words: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," and was signed "Donald."
This book was allegedly assembled prior to Epstein's criminal activities being made public. His first arrest came in 2006 — three years prior to the letter's supposed writing.
Trump's previous dealings with Epstein have been well documented. The two men were spotted together at social gatherings during the 1990s and early 2000s, and both had a place in Palm Beach, Florida. In a 2002 New York magazine profile, Trump stated:
"I've known Jeff for 15 years. Great guy. He's a great guy to be around. It is even said that he loves beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are very young."
Trump tried to distance himself from him by 2019, informing journalists:
"I knew him like everyone in Palm Beach knew him, but I fell out with him. I haven't talked to him in 15 years. I wasn't a fan of his, that I can tell you."
As the litigation progresses, the case will challenge the limits of press freedom, public interest, and defamation law — while continuing to fan the raw and unresolved controversy over Epstein's legacy.
