The Wall Street Journal signaled it won’t flinch in reaction to Donald Trump’s libel lawsuit over the paper’s bombshell reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, vowing in a statement Friday to “vigorously defend” itself in court.
“We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” the Rupert Murdoch-owned Journal said in a statement.
On Thursday WSJ reported on previously unrevealed details about Trump’s long-documented friendship with Epstein, publishing the content of a note the president wrote for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. Consisting of “several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker,” Trump’s message included an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, which according to WSJ was as follows
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?
The message ended with, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump filed his $10 billion lawsuit on Friday.
Trump and Epstein were friends for at least 15 years, at one point telling New York magazine in 2002, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
The Wall Street Journal’s statement comes in stark contrast to other major media outlets of late. Disney paid Trump $15 million in late 2024 to settle a lawsuit over ABC’s George Stephanopoulos saying the president was “liable for rape” in the lawsuit filed bu E. Jean Carroll. Technically, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, which carries a different definition in New York, where the E. Jean Carroll trial took place. Nevertheless, experts by and large assert Trump’s lawsuit would have failed.
And just 2 weeks ago, Paramount announced a $16 million settlement with Trump to settle his lawsuit against the company, based on the baseless claim that a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris had been “deceptively edited.”
