U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch, The Wall Street Journal, and its parent companies, accusing them of publishing a “false and malicious” story about his past ties to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Miami, follows a bombshell Journal report alleging that Trump once sent Epstein a sexually suggestive birthday letter in 2003.
The article claimed the letter included the outline of a naked woman, drawn with a marker, and bore Trump’s signature stylized to resemble pubic hair a detail that ignited widespread media attention and political fallout.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is The Wall Street Journal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday.
The lawsuit names Murdoch, Dow Jones & Company, News Corp, and two Wall Street Journal reporters as defendants.
Trump’s legal team alleges that the article was designed to inflict “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” and insists that no such letter ever existed.
In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for Dow Jones defended the paper’s reporting: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
The legal action comes as Trump faces increasing pressure from within his own political base over his historical association with Epstein, who died in 2019 in a New York jail while awaiting trial for sexually exploiting underage girls.
His death, officially ruled a suicide, continues to fuel conspiracy theories about a global elite pedophile ring.
Seeking to contain mounting unrest among supporters, Trump also directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to request the unsealing of grand jury testimony related to the Epstein prosecution.
In a motion filed Friday in New York, Bondi cited “extensive public interest” in seeking access to the usually secret materials.
While it remains uncertain whether a judge will grant the request, Bondi’s office has already ruled out the existence of an alleged “Epstein client list” a claim widely circulated in right-wing media circles.
Despite the lack of direct evidence linking Trump to any of Epstein’s alleged crimes, their long-standing friendship and past social ties continue to haunt the former president, particularly after his return to office in January for a second term.
The Wall Street Journal story struck a nerve by suggesting a shared interest in sexually explicit content.
The report, citing sources close to Epstein’s estate, described the letter as part of a 2003 birthday album featuring notes from various celebrities and businessmen.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” Trump said in a flurry of defensive posts, rejecting the story’s claims.
However, past charity auctions and media outlets have published Trump’s drawings including sketches from the early 2000s raising questions about the credibility of his denials.
Whether the court will rule in Trump’s favor or allow further scrutiny of Epstein-related records remains to be seen.
But the high-stakes lawsuit adds a new layer of drama to a scandal that continues to cast a long shadow over the political and media establishment alike.
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