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Donald Trump claims The Wall Street Journal wants to settle his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper, its parent company, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and two journalists whose bylines appeared on a story about the president’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
“It’s in the lawyer’s hands,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday.
“I have been treated very unfairly by The Wall Street Journal on everything,” he said. “I would assume Rupert Murdoch controls it, but maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. And they are talking to us about doing something, but we’ll see what happens. They would like us to drop that. So we’ll see. … They want to settle it.”
The Independent has requested comment from Dow Jones, the newspaper’s publisher.
Trump’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on July 18, claims the newspaper, its publishers, media company News Corp, and executives and journalists falsely smeared the president by accusing him of writing a sexually suggestive birthday card to the convicted sex offender in 2003.
The birthday greeting is described by the newspaper as also including a birthday wish that says, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
A letter reportedly bearing Trump’s name, which the WSJ report claims was reviewed by the newspaper, contains several lines of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman. His signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair, according to the report.
The defendants “failed to attach the letter, failed to attach the alleged drawing, failed to show proof that President Trump authored or signed any such letter, and failed to explain how this purported letter was obtained,” according to Trump’s lawsuit.
“The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” the complaint claims.
Trump’s relationship with Epstein — who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of minors before he was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 — has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following a Department of Justice memo that says no such “list” of Epstein’s alleged clients exists. Trump’s supporters and allies have demanded a full accounting of Epstein’s death and alleged ties to a wider child trafficking conspiracy implicating powerful figures.
On Monday, Trump’s attorneys filed an expedited request for Murdoch’s deposition, citing his age (94) and prior health issues.
Trump “reached out to, and spoke directly with, Murdoch and advised him that the letter referenced in the article was fake,” according to the president’s legal team. “Murdoch advised President Trump that ‘he would take care of it.’”
The president has repeatedly threatened media outlets, publishers and journalists with legal action, and he routinely suggests he can revoke broadcast licenses for networks over their antagonistic coverage.
His blockbuster lawsuits against broadcast news giants ABC News and CBS News resulted in large settlements that have sparked fears among press freedom advocates that publishers are only emboldening the president’s chilling message to the media.
Last week, the White House removed WSJ reporters from the pool of journalists covering the president’s trip to Scotland in an apparent retaliation for the story.
“Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the [13] outlets on board,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement shared with The Independent. “Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible.”
Dow Jones declined to comment on the reporters’ removal.
