Trump files lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over story about Epstein birthday letter: Reports
Trump sues Wall Street Journal over 'letter' story
President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over an article the news outlet reported about a letter he sent to Jeffrey Epstein on the wealthy financier’s 50th birthday, according a report.
Editor's note: "The Wall Street Journal shares common ownership with Fox. Fox has not independently confirmed the truth of the Wall Street Journal’s reporting."
President Donald Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch Friday, a day after the newspaper published a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump condemned the story in a lengthy social media post Thursday night on his Truth Social platform. The president wrote that he personally warned The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch "that the supposed letter" was "a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued. Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so."
FILE-President Donald Trump stops and talks to the media before he boards Marine One on the South Lawn at the White House on June 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
What’s in the Epstein birthday letter?
The backstory:
The Wall Street Journal reviewed the letter dated in 2003 which bears Donald Trump’s name and reportedly has several typewritten texts featuring an outline of a naked woman, sketched in marker.
Citing the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek noted that the drawing also has two arcs representing breasts, with Trump’s signature written beneath the waist and resembling public hair.
The letter reportedly reads: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
RELATED: Trump orders release of Epstein grand jury testimony amid backlash from supporters
Trump pledged to sue the Wall Street Journal over their story, saying: "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures," the Associated Press reported.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump's reported birthday letter to Epstein, who died in 2019, was among multiple birthday notes that Epstein's longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, collected from Epstein’s family and friends and accrued in a leather book as a 50th birthday gift to Epstein.
Trump added in his Truth Social Post on Thursday that he and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker that the letter at the center of the article was fake, but she "didn't want to hear that" and "instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway."
Trump orders release of Epstein grand jury testimony
Dig deeper:
On July 17, President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue the release of grand jury materials tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump’s announcement came days after the Department of Justice released a memo claiming that Epstein had no blackmail "client list," didn’t extort anyone, and died by suicide. The memo, meant to quash speculation, only added fuel to the fire.
RELATED: Trump drew naked woman, wrote 'bawdy' message in birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein: WSJ
Some of Trump’s own supporters showed frustration with the limited disclosures of information, especially after Bondi previously hinted in a Fox News interview that a "client list" was "sitting on my desk." Bondi later clarified that she meant Epstein material more broadly.
The Justice Department in February had distributed a binder labeled The Epstein Files: Phase 1 to a group of Republican influencers. Many later said it contained mostly already-public information.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, Newsweek, Axios, and previous LIVENOW from FOX reporting. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.