Update, Friday evening: The Wall Street Journal defended the reporting and vowed to fight the lawsuit in a statement Friday evening. Read more here.
President Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion on Friday, TheWrap has learned, one day after the paper reported he had contributed a “bawdy” letter in a leather-bound compilation of birthday messages for “pal” Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
The president filed his lawsuit in federal court for the Southern District of Florida, claiming libel against Rupert Murdoch and Dow Jones, WSJ’s publisher, and seeking damages “not to be less than $10 billion dollars,” per the filing. Trump is also suing the reporters who wrote the story, Joe Palazzolo and Khadeeja Safdar.
“I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ,” Trump posted on Truth Social earlier in the day. “That will be an interesting experience!!!”
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported Trump sent Epstein a birthday note that contained “several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.” The note included an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein that was written in the third person.
One section of the note, according to the WSJ, included the following lines:
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Trump’s note, according to the WSJ, finished by saying “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump, less than an hour after the story was published, said the report was bogus on social media and vowed to sue Murdoch and the WSJ. He also denied he wrote the birthday note in the WSJ story, telling the outlet: “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.” He added, “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
The Journal’s report followed criticisms of the Trump administration by many pro-MAGA commentators and influencers over the investigation into Epstein, after the Justice Department and FBI said last week there was no incriminating Epstein client list to release or proof Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.
To point to a few notable examples, Tucker Carlson called out Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying “you’re not going to shout me down” for asking “pretty reasonable questions.” And The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh also said he will not drop the issue, even though the president would like conservative commentators to do so.
“I want to make this very clear to those on the right, including the president himself, who are telling us to just drop the subject and move on. We can’t drop it,” Walsh said on his podcast.
On Thursday night, Trump said he ordered Attorney General Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.” He added “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”
Friday’s lawsuit adds to a growing list of media companies the president has sued in the last year. Disney paid Trump $15 million in late 2024 to settle a lawsuit after ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said the president was “liable for rape” multiple times on air; in fact, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, which carries a different definition in New York, where the E. Jean Carroll case took place.
And earlier this month, Paramount said it would pay Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit against the company, after he claimed “60 Minutes” had “deceptively edited” its interview with Kamala Harris leading up to the 2024 election.
The Wall Street Journal did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
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