U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), its parent company News Corp., and two of its reporters over a story alleging he wrote a sexually explicit birthday note to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday, July 18, in federal court in Florida—just one day after the WSJ published the controversial piece. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Trump claims the article falsely reported that he drew an image of a naked woman and signed his name “Donald” in a way that resembled pubic hair in a note to Epstein for his 50th birthday.
Trump alleges that the Journal had access to information disproving the claims but chose to publish the story regardless. The suit does not specify what that evidence is.
“There is no authentic letter or drawing,” the lawsuit states. “The Journal concocted the story to malign President Trump’s character and integrity and deceptively portray him in a false light.”
According to Trump’s legal team, the WSJ first contacted the White House Press Secretary on July 15 to notify them of the upcoming story. That same day, Trump’s attorney responded, denying the allegations and warning the outlet of potential legal action. Despite this, the WSJ published the article on July 17.
The lawsuit is seeking a minimum of $10 billion in damages. Named in the suit are News Corp., its CEO Robert Thomson, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and the two reporters who authored the story.
Trump’s attorneys argue that the article spread rapidly across social media and other news platforms, citing the WSJ’s following of over 20 million on X (formerly Twitter), and widespread reposts by influencers and journalists.
Shortly after filing the suit, Trump addressed the matter on his Truth Social platform:
“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.”
He also referenced previous legal battles with media outlets such as ABC, CBS, and 60 Minutes, taking a swipe at anchor George Stephanopoulos by calling him “George Slopadopoulos.”
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