Trump Sues Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Reporting

US President Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners for reporting on a birthday letter allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The letter included a sexually suggestive drawing and alluded to shared secrets. Ankush Khardori, a former US federal prosecutor, analyzes the lawsuit and its potential consequences.

US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, for reporting on a birthday letter allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The letter, which the Journal claimed included a sexually suggestive drawing and alluded to shared secrets, has sparked significant controversy and legal action.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, seeks at least $10 billion in damages. It alleges that the Journal's claims were "false, defamatory, unsubstantiated, and disparaging," and accuses the publication of "clear journalistic failures." The suit names the Journal's publisher, Dow Jones & Company, along with its parent company, News Corporation. Also named as defendants are Wall Street Journal reporters Joseph Palazzolo and Khadeeja Safdar, the bylines on the Epstein story, as well as Murdoch and Dow Jones CEO Robert Thomson.

Trump has vehemently denied the report, calling it a "FAKE" and vowing to sue the "ass off" of Murdoch and his newspaper. The President has previously acknowledged crossing paths with Epstein but has said they had a "falling out."

Defamation lawsuits face a high bar to success in U.S. courts. Typically, for a public figure to win a defamation suit, they need to demonstrate not only that false claims were made about them, but also that the defendant acted with "actual malice," meaning that they knew the claims were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. CBS News has also reached out to Dow Jones for comment.

The lawsuit comes as Trump faces increased scrutiny about his relationship with Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019. The Epstein case has generated numerous conspiracy theories, with some of Trump's most loyal supporters believing the government was covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful.

The order from Trump to release grand jury testimony related to Epstein comes after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo stating that Epstein did not have an incriminating "client list," did not try to blackmail any prominent figures, and died by suicide. The memo drew backlash from across the political spectrum, including from some fervent Trump backers.

References:
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawsuit-wall-street-journal-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter/
[2] https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-files-libel-lawsuit-over-wall-street-journals-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-card-claim-13398643
[3] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-epstein-letter-wsj-report-libel-lawsuit-1.7589071