The Letter Trump Swears He Never Wrote to Epstein Cost Him a Judge’s Dismissal. Now He’s Doubling Down With a Longer Tantrum
The attacks on the media keep coming.
President Donald Trump just hit The Wall Street Journal with a beefed-up $10 billion defamation lawsuit over a 2003 birthday letter he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein. This is his second swing at the news outlet after a federal judge tossed the first complaint last month for failing to prove “actual malice.” The new filing is seven pages longer and doubles down on claims that the Journal’s reporting caused “overwhelming” financial and reputational damage.
The letter in question, released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, includes the line, “Happy Birthday, may every day be another wonderful secret,” scribbled inside a silhouette that looks like a naked woman. According to The Hill, Trump has repeatedly denied writing it, and his lawyers are now arguing the Journal either knew the story was false or deliberately avoided investigating the truth.
The complaint points out that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-defendant, told federal officials she had no knowledge of the letter. Trump’s team also claims the Journal left out his denial in the original article, though the piece does include a line stating, “Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture.”
This isn’t just another legal skirmish for Trump
It’s part of a pattern of defamation lawsuits against media outlets, including The New York Times, the BBC, and Iowa’s Des Moines Register. The Journal, for its part, isn’t backing down. A spokesperson said the outlet has “full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting” and plans to fight the lawsuit.
Dow Jones, the Journal’s publisher, along with News Corp, its CEO Robert Thomson, and Chair Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, are all named as defendants, along with the two reporters who wrote the story. The legal battle kicked off last July after the Journal published the letter, which Trump’s team calls a fake.
A federal judge in Miami, appointed by former President Barack Obama, dismissed the initial lawsuit in April, ruling Trump didn’t meet the “actual malice” standard required for public figures to win defamation cases. The judge didn’t weigh in on whether Trump actually wrote the letter, calling it a “question of fact” that couldn’t be decided at this stage. But the ruling left the door open for Trump to refile, which he’s now done with what his legal team calls a “powerhouse lawsuit.”
Trump’s frustration with the Epstein narrative isn’t new
He’s denied any wrongdoing tied to the disgraced financier, saying the two had a falling out years ago. Recently, First Lady Melania Trump also pushed back against what she called “mean-spirited attempts to defame” her reputation, calling out unnamed critics for lacking “ethical standards, humility and respect.”
The Journal’s reporting on the letter relied on documents tied to Epstein’s estate, which were turned over to the House Oversight Committee. The article itself didn’t claim Trump wrote the letter; it presented it as an alleged document and included his denial. But Trump’s legal team is arguing the Journal should have known better, especially since Maxwell, one of the few people who could confirm its authenticity, said she had no knowledge of it.
This case is shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown over press freedom and defamation standards. Public figures like Trump have a much higher bar to clear in defamation lawsuits, thanks to the “actual malice” standard set by the Supreme Court.
That means they have to prove the outlet either knew the information was false or recklessly disregarded the truth. The judge’s April ruling made it clear Trump’s first complaint didn’t come close to meeting that standard, but the new filing is an attempt to change that.
The Wall Street Journal stands by its reporting
A spokesperson called the story rigorous and accurate, and the outlet isn’t backing down from the fight. For Trump, this lawsuit is about more than just the Epstein letter. It’s part of a broader effort to push back against media coverage he sees as unfair. Whether this refiled complaint will hold up in court remains to be seen, but it’s clear neither side is ready to back down.
Trump is no stranger to suing media outlets. He’s not shy about using the courts to challenge stories he disagrees with. The Epstein letter case is particularly messy because it hinges on a document that’s hard to authenticate. The letter itself is handwritten, and the only people who could confirm its origins are both denying knowledge of it. That leaves the Journal in a tricky spot – defending a story that relies on a piece of evidence that may never be definitively proven true or false.
The timing of this refiled lawsuit is also worth noting. It comes just weeks after the judge’s dismissal, giving Trump’s legal team a chance to address the weaknesses in the original complaint. The new filing is longer and more detailed, but it’s not clear if it will be enough to survive another round in court.
(Featured image: The White House)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
