Media giant Dow Jones has pledged to “vigorously defend” itself against a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over a Wall Street Journal article allegedly linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a strong response issued Friday, a Dow Jones spokesperson said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.” The statement was first reported by AFP hours after the lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Miami.
The 18-page complaint targets Dow Jones & Co., The Wall Street Journal, its parent company News Corp, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo. At the heart of the lawsuit is a Journal article published Thursday that claims Trump, then a real estate developer, sent Epstein a provocative birthday letter in 2003. The letter allegedly included a nude illustration and a reference to a shared “secret.”
Trump: “No Such Letter Exists”
Trump’s legal team has dismissed the report as fabricated, asserting that the Journal’s story is “completely false, malicious, and defamatory.”
“The reason no evidence has been presented is because no such letter or drawing exists,” the complaint states, accusing the newspaper of “glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards.”
President Trump responded sharply on his social media platform Truth Social, calling the article “FAKE NEWS” and the Journal a “useless rag.” He wrote, “We have just filed a POWERHOUSE lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article.’”
Trump’s lawyers argue that the story was deliberately crafted to damage him politically, especially ahead of the upcoming election season. They also highlight that the article contains no physical evidence—such as images of the letter or illustration—to support its claims.
Wider Impact & Silence from Murdoch Camp
Since publication, the article has circulated widely online. Trump’s legal team claims it was viewed by “hundreds of millions of people,” further amplifying its alleged reputational damage.
As of Saturday morning, neither Rupert Murdoch nor the named journalists have issued public responses. News Corp, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, has also not commented.
The case adds to the list of legal battles surrounding the controversial Republican leader as he seeks re-election while facing scrutiny on multiple fronts.
