Trump Sues WSJ for $20B Over Epstein Letter

President Donald Trump has followed through on his vow to file suit against The Wall Street Journal, alleging the newspaper falsely reported that he sent a suggestive birthday letter in 2003 to the now-deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The suit alleges defamation by the newspaper for an article that was published Thursday amid renewed scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

In addition to the Journal and its parent company, News Corp, the suit names WSJ reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo. It also names News Corp CEO Robert Thomson and Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch.

The complaint accuses the Journal of “glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting” that it alleges violated the mission of Dow Jones, WSJ’s publisher, and harmed Trump’s reputation.

“Hundreds of millions of people have already viewed the false and defamatory statements published by Defendants,” Trump’s complaint reads. “And given the timing of the Defendants’ article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.”

In his complaint, Trump accused the reporters of falsely presenting as fact that Trump authored, signed and annotated the lewd birthday card, claiming that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.”