The US president accuses Wall Street Journal of libel over Epstein letter report
US President Donald Trump has filed a libel lawsuit against billionaire Rupert Murdoch and his media empire over a Wall Street Journal report that claimed he sent a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
The suit, filed Friday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, names Murdoch, News Corp, Dow Jones, and two Journal reporters as defendants, according to multiple media reports. While the full complaint was not immediately available, court records confirm the case has been docketed.
“I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The lawsuit stems from a WSJ article published Thursday, which claimed that Trump authored a suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday. The report cited an alleged drawing of a nude woman signed “Donald,” included in a leather-bound album compiled by Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam… But he did [print it], and now I’m going to sue his ass off,” Trump wrote Thursday night.
The legal move follows days of intensifying backlash over Trump’s handling of the Epstein case. In an effort to address growing public skepticism, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval to unseal grand jury transcripts, after the Department of Justice announced that no further documents would be released and that no Epstein “client list” ever existed.
Bondi had previously claimed the list was “sitting on [her] desk” and referred to a “truckload” of disturbing FBI files. She later walked back those remarks, clarifying that she was referring more broadly to case files in her office.
Epstein, arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges, was found dead in jail before standing trial. Although his death was officially ruled a suicide, it has long fueled public skepticism. Ghislaine Maxwell was later convicted and is serving a 20-year sentence.
