NEW YORK — United States President Donald Trump on Friday accused Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal of defaming him in an article about a lewd birthday greeting that the publication said Trump had sent to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein decades ago.
In a suit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Trump said the article “falsely claimed that he authored, drew and signed” the note to Epstein.
The complaint claimed that “given the timing” of the article, “the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.” It asked for awarded damages “not to be less than US$10 billion.”
The suit named as defendants the Journal’s parent company, News Corp; Murdoch, News Corp’s founder and former chair; Robert Thomson, News Corp’s CEO; Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal; and two Journal reporters.
The Journal published the article about the note Thursday under the headline: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was from Donald Trump.” The article described a letter that appeared to be from Trump in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein. The letter, which the Journal said it had reviewed, had a drawing of a naked woman on it with Trump’s signature below her waist, alluding to pubic hair, the article said.
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the Journal said the note read.
Trump denied to the Journal that he had written the letter and said it was “a fake thing” and threatened legal action.
The News Corp building in Manhattan, where the Wall Street Journal has its offices, July 7, 2025. (Photo: New York Times)
He repeated his intention to sue in posts on his social media site, Truth Social. “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ,” Trump wrote Friday morning. “That will be an interesting experience!!!”
A Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Trump has faced mounting criticism and pressure from his supporters over whether to release documents related to investigations into Epstein, who was charged with running a vast sex-trafficking scheme.
Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on the charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner. Many of Trump’s supporters were upset because they believed that Attorney General Pam Bondi was holding back some files related to the Epstein investigation.
On Friday, the Justice Department asked federal judges to unseal grand jury testimony from the Epstein case, as well as from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein traffic women for sex.
US financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. (Photo via Reuters)
Trump routinely berates journalists and news organisations and has increasingly used legal threats and actual litigation against media outlets. His lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” report on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) News resulted in a $16 million settlement with Paramount this month. Last year, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) News agreed to settle a defamation suit brought by Trump for $15 million, plus $1 million for his legal fees. He recently threatened to sue The New York Times and Cable News Network (CNN) over their reporting about the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In a post on Friday evening, Trump said he was filing the “powerhouse” suit on behalf of not only himself but all Americans who will “no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings" of the press.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
In a suit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Trump said the article “falsely claimed that he authored, drew and signed” the note to Epstein.
The complaint claimed that “given the timing” of the article, “the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply.” It asked for awarded damages “not to be less than US$10 billion.”
The suit named as defendants the Journal’s parent company, News Corp; Murdoch, News Corp’s founder and former chair; Robert Thomson, News Corp’s CEO; Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal; and two Journal reporters.
The Journal published the article about the note Thursday under the headline: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was from Donald Trump.” The article described a letter that appeared to be from Trump in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein. The letter, which the Journal said it had reviewed, had a drawing of a naked woman on it with Trump’s signature below her waist, alluding to pubic hair, the article said.
“Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the Journal said the note read.
Trump denied to the Journal that he had written the letter and said it was “a fake thing” and threatened legal action.
The News Corp building in Manhattan, where the Wall Street Journal has its offices, July 7, 2025. (Photo: New York Times)
He repeated his intention to sue in posts on his social media site, Truth Social. “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ,” Trump wrote Friday morning. “That will be an interesting experience!!!”
A Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Trump has faced mounting criticism and pressure from his supporters over whether to release documents related to investigations into Epstein, who was charged with running a vast sex-trafficking scheme.
Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on the charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner. Many of Trump’s supporters were upset because they believed that Attorney General Pam Bondi was holding back some files related to the Epstein investigation.
On Friday, the Justice Department asked federal judges to unseal grand jury testimony from the Epstein case, as well as from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein traffic women for sex.
US financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. (Photo via Reuters)
Trump routinely berates journalists and news organisations and has increasingly used legal threats and actual litigation against media outlets. His lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” report on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) News resulted in a $16 million settlement with Paramount this month. Last year, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) News agreed to settle a defamation suit brought by Trump for $15 million, plus $1 million for his legal fees. He recently threatened to sue The New York Times and Cable News Network (CNN) over their reporting about the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In a post on Friday evening, Trump said he was filing the “powerhouse” suit on behalf of not only himself but all Americans who will “no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings" of the press.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
