Jonathan Frederic De Santos

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 10, 2025, en route to the White House. Brendan Smialowski, AFP/File

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal on Friday for at least $10 billion over the publication of a bombshell report on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein.</p><p>The defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, saw the 79-year-old Republican hitting back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage.</p><p>&quot;We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS &#x27;article&#x27; in the useless &#x27;rag&#x27; that is, The Wall Street Journal,&quot; Trump posted on Truth Social late Friday.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/17/trump-slams-own-supporters-as-epstein-row-grows-1025"><strong>Trump slams own supporters as Epstein row grows<br/></strong></a></div><p>The Journal reported Thursday that in 2003, the then-real estate magnate wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein, illustrated with a naked woman and referring to their shared &quot;secret.&quot;</p><p>The lawsuit, which also names two reporters and Murdoch&#x27;s company News Corp. as defendants, claims that no such letter exists and that the Journal intended to malign Trump with an article already viewed by hundreds of millions of people.</p><p>&quot;And given the timing of the Defendants&#x27; article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply,&quot; it said.</p><div><strong>Alleged cover-up</strong></div><p>In another bid to dampen outrage among his own supporters about an alleged government cover-up of Epstein&#x27;s activities and 2019 death, Trump ordered his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against the disgraced financier.</p><p>In a filing in New York, Bondi cited &quot;extensive public interest&quot; for the unusual request to release what is typically secret testimony.</p><p>Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/13/trump-calls-for-maga-base-to-end-epstein-files-obsession-0950"><strong>Trump calls for MAGA base to end &#x27;Epstein Files&#x27; obsession<br/></strong></a></div><p>The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump&#x27;s far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles. Epstein&#x27;s death — declared a suicide — before he could face trial supercharged the narrative.</p><p>When Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamored for revelations about Epstein&#x27;s supposed list of clients. But Bondi issued an official memo in July declaring there was no such list.</p><p>The discontent in Trump&#x27;s &quot;Make America Great Again&quot; base poses a rare challenge to the Republican&#x27;s control of the political narrative in the United States.</p><p>It remained unclear whether a court would authorize the unsealing of the grand jury testimony.</p><p>But even if such material were made public, it was also unclear whether it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories — particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list.</p><p>Asked Friday by reporters if he would pursue the broader release of information related to the case, Trump did not answer.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ry-3VPQHFAY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><strong>Naked woman and signature</strong></div><p>Trump was for years close with Epstein and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties, although there has never been evidence of wrongdoing.</p><p>The Wall Street Journal article published late Thursday was damaging because it indicated a shared interest in sex.</p><p>The Journal reported that Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a &quot;bawdy&quot; letter, part of an album of messages from rich and well-known figures.</p><p>According to the Journal, the Trump letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future president&#x27;s signature &quot;Donald&quot; mimicking pubic hair. It ends, according to the newspaper, with &quot;Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.&quot;</p><p>Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying &quot;it&#x27;s not my language. It&#x27;s not my words.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I never wrote a picture in my life. I don&#x27;t draw pictures of women,&quot; he said.</p><p>US media has published multiple drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal on Friday for at least $10 billion over the publication of a bombshell report on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein.</p>

US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal on Friday for at least $10 billion over the publication of a bombshell report on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump sues Murdoch, newspaper over Epstein sex bombshell

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Trump sues Murdoch, newspaper over Epstein sex bombshell

Agence France-Presse

Published July 19, 2025 09:43 AM PHT

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