Trump sues Wall Street Journal for S$12.8 billion over article alleging he sent letter to Jeffrey Epstein

U.S. President Donald Trump has sued the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and a number of its owners for defamation, seeking US$10 billion (S$12.8 billion) in the process.

The lawsuit is in relation to a racy birthday letter and sketch of a naked woman WSJ claimed Trump had allegedly sent to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump had reportedly earlier called the letter and its contents "a fake thing", denying having crafted any of it, WSJ said.

Early warnings

In their article published on Jul. 17, which detailed the contents of the letter, WSJ said that they had already been warned of the lawsuit during an interview they conducted with Trump on Jul. 15.

Regardless, the letter was later made public.

Hours after the article was published, Trump announced that he would be filing a lawsuit against WSJ and its owner Rupert Murdoch for the letter he reiterated was "fake".

"These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures", he said in a post on Truth Social.

Both Murdoch and WSJ's editor Emma Tucker were warned by Trump and U.S. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, but failed to stop the publication of the article, he said in another post.

"Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway," Trump added.

Within the same hour, he said he had begun the lawsuit proceedings.

"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval".

What's in the letter?

WSJ said that the alleged Trump letter was among others collected from dozens of Epstein's associates as part of a birthday album for his 50th birthday in 2003.

A number of pages in the album were reportedly examined by Justice Department officials when Epstein was arrested on 2005 on child sexual abuse allegations.

According to WSJ's article, the alleged Trump letter "contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker."

"A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair", they claimed.

The letter also contained a curious message, allegedly by Trump to Epstein, which said "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump's former friendship with Epstein has recently become a contentious issue as the case continues to be reviewed under the Trump Administration.

Trump has increasingly appeared frustrated at his own supporters' interest in the matter and for wanting more transparency in his administration in their review.

He blasted them for being "weaklings" and called the Epstein controversy a "hoax" on Jul. 16, turning the situation into a partisan issue by accusing Democrats of advocating the "scam".

Lawsuit

On Jul. 18, Trump announced that he had filed "a powerhouse lawsuit" against WSJ, including its corporate owners and affiliates.

The Guardian reported that the lawsuit also targeted Dow Jones, the parent company of WSJ, and News Corp, of which Dow Jones is a subsidiary.

US$10 billion (S$12.8 billion) in damages from defamation was sought in the process.

The lawsuit is part of Trump's crackdown on media outlets, including ABC, CBS, and 60 Minutes, who Trump said "deal in, and push, disgusting LIES, and even FRAUD, to the American People."

ABC and CBS had previously reached multimillion-dollar settlements with Trump after he took them to court, The Guardian said.

"This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media", Trump added.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance gave his input on the case in a post on X, calling WSJ's article "complete and utter bullsh*t".

"The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?” Vance said.

Top image via Donald Trump/Facebook