Former President Donald Trump launched a $10 billion defamation lawsuit Friday against The Wall Street Journal and its owner Dow Jones & Co., alleging he was falsely accused of sending a “bawdy” birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. In the lawsuit filed in Florida federal court, Trump claims the article is “false, defamatory and malignant,” asserting the letter never existed.
Trump’s filing names News Corp., CEO Robert Thomson, Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, and media magnate Rupert Murdoch as defendants. He denounced the reported birthday note and drawing—allegedly found in Epstein’s archives—as “fabricated to malign my character.”
Accused Claims of Fabrication and Malice
The Journal article, published on July 17, stated that reporters reviewed a letter bearing Trump’s name with a crude sketch of a nude woman. It was released amid calls for more disclosure about his ties to Epstein. Trump’s lawsuit alleges the outlet:
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Misreported that Trump authored, drew, and signed the letter;
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Failed to provide the letter or drawing;
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Did not explain how they procured it.
“The reason for those failures,” Trump argues, “is because no authentic letter or drawing exists.” He claims the story was “concocted” to deceive and malign him.
