Donald Trump has launched a $10 billion legal salvo at Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, and the Wall Street Journal, accusing them of defamation over a contentious report linking him to Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit, lodged in the federal court of the Southern District of Florida in Miami, targets the media empire’s leadership and its journalists, alleging they knowingly published a fabricated letter purportedly sent by the US President to Epstein in 2003.
The Journal’s article, released earlier this week, described a supposed birthday greeting included in an album curated by Ghislaine Maxwell. It reportedly featured a lewd sketch of a naked woman and a note bearing Trump’s signature, allegedly referencing “wonderful secrets”.
The content, according to the lawsuit, not only misrepresents Trump’s character but is “a wilful and malicious attempt to defame the sitting President”.
Trump, writing on Truth Social, dismissed the letter as a complete falsehood. “The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein,” he wrote. “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
The US President claimed to have personally warned Rupert Murdoch about the alleged fabrication prior to publication. “I told Rupert Murdoch it was a scam, that he shouldn’t print this fake story. But he did, and now I am going to sue his a** off, and that of his third-rate newspaper,” he posted.
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He further asserted that Murdoch had acknowledged the concern and assured action. “Murdoch stated that he would take care of it, but obviously did not have the power to do so,” Trump wrote. “Instead they are going with a false, malicious, defamatory story anyway.”
Two journalists associated with the Journal have also been named in the suit. Legal observers expect the case to draw significant public attention, given Trump’s history of adversarial relations with mainstream media outlets.
The controversial figure of Jeffrey Epstein, who was awaiting trial on charges related to child sex trafficking before being found dead in his prison cell in 2019, continues to cast a long shadow over American political and social life.
While the WSJ has not yet issued a formal response, the case may test the boundaries of media freedom, editorial responsibility, and defamation law in an election year marked by heightened scrutiny.
In a separate post, Trump added, “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.”
This lawsuit marks Trump’s most aggressive legal action yet against a major news publisher during his current term, reinforcing a combative media posture that has long defined his political strategy.
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