MIAMI — Former President Donald J. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit Friday against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, alleging that a recently published article falsely linked him to a lewd birthday greeting sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
The complaint, filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, accuses the Journal, its owner News Corp, executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, CEO Robert Thomson, and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo of publishing “false, defamatory, and inflammatory statements” that Trump says are fabricated and damaging to his reputation.
At the center of the lawsuit is a July 17 article titled “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.” The Journal reported that it had reviewed a typewritten note styled as a fictional conversation between Trump and Epstein, allegedly framed within a hand-drawn sketch of a naked woman and signed “Donald” beneath the drawing’s waist.
Trump categorically denies authoring, drawing, or signing the letter.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing,” Trump told the Journal before publication, according to the article. “It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story.”
In the 18-page lawsuit, Trump’s attorneys argue that the article was published with actual malice and lacked any supporting evidence — no image of the letter was released, and no source for its authenticity was disclosed.
“Despite being on notice that the purported letter was fake and nonexistent, Defendants recklessly published their story,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit claims the article went viral within hours, generating millions of views on social media platforms and being republished by outlets including CNN, MSNBC, Politico, and Rolling Stone. Trump’s team contends that the coverage caused “reputational and financial damage” in the billions of dollars.
The complaint highlights that the Journal promoted the article on its homepage and social media, with the story becoming a trending topic on X (formerly Twitter) the day after its release. It also alleges that anti-Trump groups and commentators amplified the claims in an attempt to damage his reputation during a politically sensitive time.
While the Journal article acknowledged uncertainty around how the letter was prepared — stating “It isn’t clear how the letter with Trump’s signature was prepared” — Trump’s lawyers argue this disclaimer does not absolve the defendants from responsibility for what they call a “maliciously false” narrative.
The lawsuit includes two counts of defamation: per se, for statements that allegedly directly harmed Trump’s reputation, and per quod, for those that implied defamatory meaning in context. Trump seeks punitive damages “not to be less than $10 billion,” citing actual malice and widespread harm.
As of Friday evening, Dow Jones & Company and the Wall Street Journal had not publicly responded to the suit.
Trump, who has a long history of litigation involving defamation claims, has previously filed similar lawsuits against CNN, the New York Times, and other media outlets, with mixed results in court.
The new case adds another layer of complexity to the political and legal landscape surrounding Trump, who is simultaneously campaigning and navigating multiple civil and criminal cases.
