has sued the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and its owner Rupert Murdoch over reporting related to Trump’s relationship with the disgraced New York City financier, Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit comes after WSJ published a report detailing a sexually suggestive birthday letter Trump sent to Epstein in 2003.
What do we know so far?
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida federal court in Miami on Friday, also targets reporters who worked on the Trump-Epstein article along with Murdoch’s companies Dow Jones and News Corp.
The article said that a letter with Trump’s signature was included in a book for Epstein on Epstein’s 50th birthday. The letter from Trump outlined a sketch of a naked woman and said “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has vehemently denied that he wrote the letter to Epstein, who died in his jail cell in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently in prison on federal charges for recruiting girls who would be abused by Epstein.
Trump’s relationship with Epstein has faced scrutiny from even his own supporters in recent weeks.
Amid increasing pressure, Trump DOJ moves to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts
Earlier this month, Trump’s Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that Epstein did not have a “client list” used to blackmail powerful figures. The DOJ and FBI also reiterated that Epstein killed himself and was not murdered.
The idea of an Epstein client list, along with the belief that the financier was murdered, are commonly held among Trump supporters. Prior to the 2024 presidential election, Trump-allied officials such as now-FBI director Kash Patel urged public disclosure of documents related to Epstein.
As the Trump administration, the DOJ on Friday filed a motion in Manhattan federal court to release grand jury transcripts pertaining to Epstein. It came after Trump a day earlier ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi .
The post Trump sues Wall Street Journal, Murdoch over Epstein report appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
