US President Donald Trump has filed a libel and slander lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp, two Wall Street Journal reporters, and the paper’s owner Rupert Murdoch.
The legal action comes just a day after Trump threatened to sue WSJ after it released a report alleging he had sent a sexually suggestive birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump himself announced that he has filed a 'powerhouse lawsuit.'
"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," the MAGA supremo said.
"This historic legal action is being brought against the so-called authors of this defamation, the now fully disgraced WSJ, as well as its corporate owners and affiliates, with Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson (whatever his role is!) at the top of the list," Trump added.
The lawsuit was filed in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida, based in Miami. A full copy of the complaint has not yet been made public.
Why did Trump sue?
The Wall Street Journal had reported that, in 2003, then-real estate mogul Donald Trump allegedly sent Jeffrey Epstein a birthday letter -- complete with a nude illustration, Trump's initials in a compromising place, and a reference to their shared “secret.”
Furthermore, to calm anger among his Republican base over Epstein-related conspiracy theories, Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against Epstein.
Bondi, in a filing submitted in New York, cited the “extensive public interest” in the case to justify the unusual legal step of requesting access to what is typically sealed testimony.
MAGA bigwigs like US vice president JD Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and right-wing commentator Laura Loomer all defended Trump after the WSJ report came into light.
Trump and Epstein had a decade-long bond before parting their ways 15 years ago, as the US president claims.
What was in the 2003 birthday letter?
The leather-bound album, made for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, has come back into public focus after WSJ said it had reviewed a copy that included a letter attributed to Donald Trump. The album was reportedly put together by Ghislaine Maxwell and included personal messages from several of Epstein’s well-known associates.
According to WSJ, the page linked to Trump contains several lines of typewritten text, framed by the outline of a naked woman drawn in thick black marker. The report says: “A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.” The note is written as a pretend third-person conversation between Trump and Epstein. It ends with the line: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Epstein's death: Suicide or something more? Debate still rages
Epstein, who knew Trump and other powerful men for years, was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 while waiting for trial on charges of sexually abusing underage girls in New York and Florida. His death was officially ruled a suicide, but it sparked many conspiracy theories, especially among Trump’s far-right supporters, who believe in a global network of elite paedophiles.
Democrats believe Epstein was murdered to stop him from revealing the names of more high-profile people involved in the scandal.
Since returning to power for a second term in January, Trump has faced growing demands from his supporters to reveal what they believe is Epstein’s secret list of clients. However, Bondi appeared to close the door on that speculation with an official memo in July declaring that no such list exists.