Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump arrives for an event to sign the GENIUS Act, a bill that regulates stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency, in the East Room of the White House, Friday, July 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Friday against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, a day after the newspaper published a story reporting on ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami. It seeks at least $10 billion in damages.
Trump promised a lawsuit after The Wall Street Journal described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
The letter revealed by The Wall Street Journal was reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a birthday album for Epstein years before the wealthy financier was first arrested in 2006 and subsequently had a falling-out with Trump.
The letter bearing Trump’s name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the newspaper.
The outlet described the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely or provide details on how it came to learn about it.
The Justice Department asked a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts in Epstein’s case at the direction of Trump after the Journal published its story.
The move seeks to contain a growing controversy that has engulfed the administration since it announced that it would not be releasing more government files from Epstein’s sex trafficking case.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche filed motions urging the court to unseal the Epstein transcripts as well as those in the case against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Epstein killed himself in 2019 shortly after his arrest while awaiting trial.