American President Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Friday for an article in which the newspaper published an alleged letter addressed by Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal, cited by Reuters, wrote on Thursday that Donald Trump’s name appears on an indecent personal note sent to Epstein in 2003.
The newspaper provided details: there are also other letters in an album, for Epstein's 50th birthday, about three years before the abuse allegations against him surfaced. According to the article, Trump's letter concludes with the wish that "every day be a new wonderful secret," followed by the signature "Donald."
- French agent who brought girls to Epstein found dead
- Former partner of Jeffrey Epstein convicted of sex trafficking with minors
Trump called the WSJ article "false, malicious, defamatory" in a post on his social platform Truth Social.
The lawsuit, filed against WSJ publisher Dow Jones, News Corp, whose owner is Rupert Murdoch, CEO Robert Thomson, and two journalists, seeks damages of at least $10 billion.
"I have just filed a SOLID lawsuit against all those involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, and FAKE NEWS article in the useless rag called The Wall Street Journal," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"I hope Rupert and his 'friends' are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to give in this case.
This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite president, ME, but also to continue to defend ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive deviations of the media spreading fake news," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
A Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement that "we have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit," according to Reuters.
Trump consistently attacks the media and also takes legal action against it. Last year, he sued CBS for $20 billion.
CBS's parent company, Paramount, agreed to a $16 million settlement this month. In December, ABC agreed to pay $15 million to settle a similar lawsuit, dpa recalls.
Elon Musk: Trump appears in "Epstein files"
Last month, Elon Musk posted a message on X claiming that US President Donald Trump appears in the as-yet undisclosed files regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case. He later deleted the post.
"Time to drop the big one," Musk posted on X. "@realDonaldTrump appears in the Epstein files. That's the real reason they haven't been made public," he noted. "Have a good day, DJT!"
In February, the Department of Justice released over 100 pages of Epstein's phone contacts and flight records related to the sex trafficking charges against the financier, who was once friends with powerful politicians like former President Bill Clinton, businessmen like Bill Gates, and even Trump.
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead on August 10, 2019, in his cell in New York. He had been arrested and charged in July 2019 for organizing, between 2002 and 2005, a network of young girls with whom he allegedly had non-consensual sexual relationships.