Trump Files $10B Lawsuit Against Murdoch's WSJ

President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion libel and slander lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent companies News Corp and Dow Jones, News Corp Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, CEO Robert Thomson, and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, stems from a Wall Street Journal article published the same day, which reported that Trump sent a "bawdy" birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 for his 50th birthday. The article claimed the letter included a sexually suggestive drawing of a naked woman with Trump's signature and a reference to shared "secrets," allegedly part of a birthday album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump denies writing the letter or creating the drawing, calling the story "false, malicious, and defamatory" and the letter a "fake." 

He claims the article caused "overwhelming financial and reputational harm" and accuses the defendants of "glaring failures in journalistic ethics" by not providing evidence of the letter's authenticity or its source. Trump warned Murdoch and the Journal’s editor, Emma Tucker, against publishing the story, asserting he told them it was false. 

The lawsuit seeks at least $10 billion in damages, with some sources reporting a figure as high as $20 billion, and demands a jury trial.

Dow Jones has defended the article, stating, "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit." 

Legal experts note that defamation cases are challenging for public figures like Trump, who must prove "actual malice"—that the defendants knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.