President Donald Trump has filed a sweeping libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, its parent company, and the reporters behind a recent article about a 2003 birthday gift to Jeffrey Epstein that allegedly included a note bearing Trump’s name and a drawing of a naked woman.
The federal lawsuit, filed in Miami, seeks at least $20 billion in damages and marks a dramatic escalation in Trump’s efforts to combat what he sees as hostile media coverage. Trump has denied authoring the note in question.
In the 18-page legal filing, Trump’s legal team accused the Journal of committing “glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting.” The lawsuit also claims the Journal never published the drawing or letter referenced in the story. “The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” Trump’s lawyer argued in the filing.
The article, written by reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo and published Thursday afternoon, immediately drew backlash from Trump. Hours after it went live, Trump threatened legal action and followed through by naming both journalists in the lawsuit.
“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added: “But, obviously, did not have the power to do so.” Trump also claimed Murdoch had told him he “would take care of it.”
A Dow Jones spokesperson responded: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Scrutiny of Trump’s past relationship with Epstein has intensified in recent weeks. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal trial for sex trafficking. Trump has previously said he would consider releasing additional government files about Epstein, and he has echoed right-wing calls for transparency in the case, which some claim lacks clarity regarding Epstein’s cause of death.
A Justice Department memo released earlier this month stated there was no evidence Epstein kept a “client list” that tied powerful figures to his crimes.
That conclusion has frustrated some of Trump’s most fervent supporters, contributing to a rift within the MAGA base.
Trump’s decades-long, turbulent relationship with Rupert Murdoch—whose company also owns Fox News—adds another layer to the lawsuit. Fox continues to be a key media platform for Trump, with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump holding a prominent role there.
This is not Trump’s first legal move against media outlets. Legal experts told CNN they couldn’t recall any previous instances of a sitting president suing a news outlet for defamation.
“As far as I can tell, no sitting president has ever sued a reporter or media outlet or media executive for allegedly defaming him,” said First Amendment attorney Ted Boutrous. “When you have the presidential bully pulpit, you simply don’t need to sue to get to the truth.”
During his 2024 campaign, Trump filed several lawsuits, including one against ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos for allegedly defaming him over remarks about the E. Jean Carroll verdict. While the jury found Trump liable for battery and sexual abuse, it did not find Carroll proved he raped her. (Trump has denied wrongdoing.) Disney, ABC’s parent company, later settled with Trump for $16 million, which was earmarked for his future presidential library.
Earlier this month, Trump dropped a 2024 lawsuit against CBS News over a 60 Minutes segment after Paramount also agreed to pay $16 million toward his library.
Trump has previously reached settlements with Meta and X over earlier cases and still has at least three ongoing lawsuits against media and tech firms.
University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias told CNN this latest case fits into Trump’s broader campaign against the press. “His attacks on the media undermine the First Amendment by making the media and others more cautious in covering Trump, his administration and other federal and state politicians,” Tobias said.
Shortly after filing the suit, Trump again took to Truth Social, writing: “I hope Rupert and his ‘friends’ are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case.”
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