Trump Sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein Story

Donald Trump has filed a new defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, seeking at least $10bn in damages over an article concerning his alleged ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US president claims the newspaper harmed his reputation by publishing information about a birthday card bearing his signature that was allegedly sent to Epstein. Trump and his legal team insist the document is forged, despite its appearance among materials released during the Epstein investigation.

The lawsuit targets media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp, several company executives and two Wall Street Journal reporters. Trump alleges the newspaper knowingly disregarded the truth or failed to properly verify the information before publication.

A federal judge dismissed Trump’s original lawsuit in April, ruling that he had failed to demonstrate the “actual malice” standard required under US law for public officials pursuing defamation claims.

(reuters, mja)