According to the New York Times and Politico, on July 18th local time, Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, responded to the defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against News Corp, Dow Jones, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and two individuals associated with The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones stated that it has full confidence in the integrity and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting and will actively defend any lawsuit.
Trump Denies Writing a Letter to Epstein, Sues News Corp
On July 17th local time, President Donald Trump expressed his anger on social media platform “Reality Social” by accusing The Wall Street Journal of publishing a “forged letter” from him to Epstein, stating, “This is not my words, nor am I painting.”
On July 18th, President Trump initiated a defamation lawsuit against News Corp, Dow Jones, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and two individuals associated with The Wall Street Journal, alleging that The Wall Street Journal published a “forged letter” from him to Epstein. He sought at least $10 billion in damages from the defendants.
Trump accused the defendants of “malicious slander,” claiming they had caused “significant economic and reputational damage.”
Murdoch is the founder and current honorary chairman of News Corp, which is the parent company of Dow Jones. The Wall Street Journal is a media outlet under Dow Jones.
Epstein was closely associated with numerous American politicians and business figures. After being arrested for alleged sexual crimes, he died in prison in August 2019, leading to an official determination of “suicide.” During his presidential campaign last year, Trump promised to release Epstein’s “client list,” exposing Epstein’s crimes and the truth behind his death.
The Wall Street Journal reported on July 17th that during Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, a leather-bound birthday album prepared by friends Maxwell contained a signed letter from Trump, which was written in a light-hearted style and included several lines of text. The letter was written in the third person, imitating a fictional conversation between Trump and Epstein.