Former U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a $10 billion lawsuit against Dow Jones & Company and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, accusing The Wall Street Journal of defamation over claims that he sent a lewd birthday note to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
Filed in federal court, the suit alleges that the Journal’s recent report — which cited a letter purportedly sent by Trump to Epstein for his 50th birthday — is “false, malicious, and defamatory.” Trump insists the letter is fabricated and claims the publication was warned in advance that legal action would be taken if it was published.
“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 his social media platform Truth Social. He added that Murdoch and others “will have to sit for many hours of depositions and testimonies.”
The article, published last week, described the letter as typewritten text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman. It reportedly contained humorous references to aging and secrecy, and was styled as an imaginary third-person conversation between Trump and Epstein. It allegedly ended with the phrase: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump categorically denied authorship, stating: “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, responded to the lawsuit by standing behind the article. “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” a spokesperson said.
The lawsuit coincides with renewed scrutiny of the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case. Under Trump’s directive, Attorney General Pam Bondi has petitioned a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony and other sealed materials related to Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors argue that the material is in the public interest and could shed light on the financier’s network of associates.
However, the issue has stirred frustration among Trump’s political base. Some conservative figures, including Republican sheriff and California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco, have expressed disappointment with the administration’s perceived lack of transparency.
In Congress, lawmakers from across the political spectrum — including Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — have co-sponsored a discharge petition that would compel the Justice Department to release more Epstein-related records.
As legal and political battles unfold, the Epstein saga continues to loom large over U.S. politics, with Trump’s lawsuit adding a new chapter in the ongoing fallout.
