HomeCrimeTrump suit over Epstein report to move slower than expected

Trump suit over Epstein report to move slower than expected

Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, Wall Street Journal

Left inset: Jeffrey Epstein (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File). Right inset: President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File). Main: The Wall Street Journal newspaper is seen at the White House in Washington on July 19, 2025. President Donald Trump sued Rupert Murdoch for libel after his Wall Street Journal published an article saying Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein a “bawdy” letter for Epstein”s 50th birthday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images).

After threatening to sue the Wall Street Journal prior to the publication of a report claiming that Donald Trump composed a “bawdy” 50th birthday card for notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, immediately following through on the threat with a $20 billion defamation complaint, and then demanding an expedited deposition of billionaire Rupert Murdoch, the president’s private legal team just revealed the docket will largely fall silent for a spell.

In mid-July, anticipation grew as rumor had it that an explosive WSJ story would shed further light on Trump’s friendship with Epstein, whom he partied with at Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s and praised in 2002 as a “terrific guy” with a noted interest in “beautiful women” on the “younger side” — three years before Epstein was first investigated in Palm Beach for sexually abusing young girls.

There have been conflicting stories about why Trump and Epstein had a falling out, amid intense scrutiny on the DOJ’s handling of the “Epstein files” and its subsequent nine-hour grilling of convicted and incarcerated sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

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But WSJ’s exclusive focused on a 50th birthday card for Epstein in 2003 that allegedly included a drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature “below her waist,” and typed text like “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

The story said that several wealthy and powerful people, former President Bill Clinton and billionaire Leon Black among them, contributed to the Epstein 50th birthday album put together by Maxwell.

More Law&Crime coverage: Ghislaine Maxwell’s accuser ‘Jane’ testifies that Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14

Two days before the story emerged, Trump on July 15 threatened to sue. After it was published, Trump confirmed he tried to convince Murdoch to squash the article under threat of suit.

“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump wrote in part on Truth Social on the night of July 17. “Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so. The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway. President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly.”

Trump attorney Alejandro Brito filed the $20 billion defamation complaint the very next day in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Dow Jones and Company, Inc., NewsCorp, the Wall Street Journal, its defendant reporters Joseph Palazzolo and Khadeeja Safdar, NewsCorp CEO Robert Thomson and Murdoch.

In the complaint, Trump claimed the defendants forged ahead on a defamatory mission fueled by the goal of maximum virality, even though they were “put […] on notice that the letter was fake and nonexistent.”

“Defendants falsely and maliciously stated that President Trump supposedly authored, drew, and signed a letter wishing Epstein a happy fiftieth birthday,” the complaint said. “Defendants elaborated on their false, defamatory, unsubstantiated, and disparaging claims against President Trump by claiming that he drew an outline of a naked woman, drew breasts on her, and signed his name below her waist ‘mimicking pubic hair.'”

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