US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters, raising claims under federal libel law, court records show.
A copy of the complaint was not immediately available. The case was filed in Miami federal court.
The lawsuit comes after The Wall Street Journal reported on a 50th birthday greeting to Jeffrey Epstein that Mr Trump allegedly sent in 2003 that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.
Earlier, Mr Trump vehemently denied the Journal report warning Rupert Murdoch, the founder of News Corp, the paper’s parent company, that he planned to sue.
“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!!!” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 in jail after he was charged with exploitation
Meanwhile, the US government has filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to sex offender Epstein.
In a filing in Manhattan federal court, the justice department said the criminal cases against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts.
Earlier today, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the justice department would ask a court to unseal the grand jury testimony, apparently in hopes of dampening fury among many of Mr Trump’s most loyal supporters over what they see as a White House cover-up.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.
The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Mr Trump’s far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy paedophiles. Epstein’s death – declared a suicide – before he could face trial super-charged the narrative.
When Mr Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamoured for revelations about Epstein’s supposed list of clients. But Ms Bondi issued an official memo in July declaring that there was no such list.
The discontent in Mr Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) base, poses a rare challenge to the 79-year-old Republican’s control of the political narrative in America.
It remained unclear whether a court would authorise the unsealing of what is usually highly secret grand jury testimony.
Even if such material were made public, it was also unclear whether it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories – particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list.
Naked woman and signature
Mr Trump was friends with Epstein and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties over the years, although there has never been evidence shown of wrongdoing.
The Wall Street Journal article published yesterday reported that Mr Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a letter featuring a hand-drawn naked woman and referring to their “secrets”.
The letter was reportedly among a slew of well-wishes from other rich and well-known figures for a birthday album.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
A furious Mr Trump said on Truth Social that the purported letter was a “scam” and “fake”.
Mr Trump also said that the Journal’s chief editor, Emma Tucker, had been told the letter was fake and that she should not publish it.
According to the Journal, the letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker pen, and had the future president’s signature.
It ends, according to the newspaper, with “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret”.
Mr Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying “it’s not my language. It’s not my words”.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said.
Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006 – after the birthday book was compiled – and he was arrested that year before accepting a plea deal.
