As you’ve probably heard, former President Donald Trump has recently filed a $1 billion lawsuit against media mogul Rupert Murdoch. He is suing the Wall Street Journal after they published a story reporting that he sent a “bawdy” letter to Jeffrey Epstein for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The lawsuit represents the former president’s long-anticipated execution of a threat to sue the Murdoch-owned publication.
In a recent Truth Social post, Trump promised to sue Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps that’s why he stated, in so many words, that he would force Murdoch to testify in the trial. The focus of the outrage is a letter that Trump supposedly sent in 2003, an errant letter he claims to have never sent in the first place.
“The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein,” Trump stated. He went on to falsely assert, “These are not my words, not the way I speak. I don’t draw pictures. Rupert Murdoch, don’t print this Scam, I said, Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate rag.”
This was written for the front page of the Wall Street Journal shortly after Trump signed the “GENIUS Act” into law. Signing ceremony of the Bill, East Room, White House, July 18, 2025. Significantly, Trump’s latest legal action underscores his continued war with news organizations he views as hostile or inaccurate.
Trump has read the article already and declared it fake news. He referred to the Wall Street Journal as a “piece of shit” newspaper. His lawsuit is intended to push back against, as he puts it, an unsuccessful smear campaign waged against him through the dissemination of false and misleading reporting.
The article was published at a critical juncture. Trump’s next legal step has drawn the interest of both his backers and detractors. The former president’s relationship with Epstein has frequently been scrutinized, making this lawsuit yet another chapter in an ongoing narrative surrounding Trump’s controversial past associations.