Trump Sues Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch for Defamation Over Epstein Birthday Article — Demands $10 Billion

President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Miami Friday for defamation against The Wall Street Journal — but the news Friday took a bizarre turn as competing entries with different case numbers and parties showed up in the online federal court docket.

The Trump administration has had an astonishingly tumultuous time in the aftermath of his Department of Justice issuing a memo denying disgraced financier and convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein had maintained a client list to blackmail the rich and powerful men who participated in his sexual abuse and trafficking of young women and underage girls.

The fallout from the Epstein files flop has emboldened Trump’s political opponents and reignited bitter internecine MAGA civil wars — messily playing out on social media and leading to calls for Trump to fire or demand the resignation of Attorney General Pam Bondi and other administration officials.

Trump’s furious demands to change the subject are falling on deaf ears, even among the MAGA faithful, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are calling for Ghislaine Maxwell

, Epstein’s accomplice and former girlfriend, to be called to testify. A resolution sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to force a floor vote on the release of the Epstein files is reportedly gaining traction, with all House Democrats expected to vote yes and more Republicans moving towards supporting it.

The defendants in Trump’s lawsuit include the Journal’s publishing firm Dow Jones, parent company News Corp, owner Rupert Murdoch, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, and two Journal reporters, Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, according to court records in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Reuters initially broke the news, but did not have the complaint with its original report.

The case arose from the Journal’s bombshell report Thursday by Safdar and Palazzolo that described an album allegedly compiled by Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

According to the Journal’s report, Trump contributed a letter for the birthday collection that included a lewd drawing:

The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy—like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly “Donald” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.

Trump’s note

reportedly included a transcript of an imaginary conversation between him and Epstein that referenced them sharing a “secret”:

Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,” the note began.Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.

Also on Thursday, Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter reported that Trump had attempted to have “personally called Emma Tucker, The Journal’s editor-in-chief, to voice his objections” and attempt to get the paper to spike the story.

Trump vociferously denied the Journal’s report, said the letter was fake, and threatened to sue the Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch. Less than a day later, he has apparently made good on that threat.

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig was among many legal experts who were highly skeptical of the merits of Trump’s litigation threats before the complaint was filed. [Update: And after the complaint was posted too.] It should be noted, however, that several other previous claims by the president that he had been defamed

or otherwise harmed by a media report were also viewed as lacking in merit, but Trump has been able to wring multi-million dollar settlements and other apparent concessions out of even large media outlets with the lawyers and resources to fight him.

MAGA influencer Benny Johnson posted a tweet Friday afternoon with a screenshot of what appeared to be the electronic filing confirmation for a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in the category of “libel, assault, slander” under “diversity” jurisdiction (a term that applies to litigants from different states, with Trump as a resident of Florida and the Journal reporters in New York, Dow Jones and News Corp headquartered in Delaware, etc.).

Listed as defendants in Johnson’s screenshot were Dow Jones, News Corp., and Murdoch, plus Safdar and Palazzolo, the two Journal reporters whose bylines are on the article about the Epstein birthday album.

As of 6:00 pm ET, the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) website, which provides public access to federal court records, had a docket entry for case no. 1:25-cv-23229 but did not yet have a complaint posted. The PACER docket entry confirms that the lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida with Donald J. Trump as the plaintiff, and defendants Dow Jones & Company, Inc., News Corporation, Keith Rupert Murdoch, Khadeeja Safdar, and Joe Palazzolo.

The PACER docket for case no. 1:25-cv-23229 showed that Trump filed “pro se” and did not have an attorney listed.

Business Insider legal correspondent Jacob Shamsian reported Friday evening that he was told by “[a] person close to Trump’s legal team” that this case was fake, and noted these strange details in the online docket.

Another case also appears on PACER and this one appears to be legitimate.

This case is numbered 1:25-cv-23232, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and lists Donald J. Trump as the plaintiff, represented by Alejandro Brito, an attorney in Coral Gables, Florida.

The defendants are Keith Rupert Murdoch, Khadeeja Safdar, Robert Thomson, Joseph Palazzolo, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. d/b/a The Wall Street Journal, and News Corporation.

A copy of the complaint is embedded below. It alleges two claims, defamation per se and defamation per quod, and demands $10 billion in damages.

Shortly before 7 pm ET Friday, Trump posted a statement about the lawsuit on his Truth Social account, calling it a “historic legal action” against the “false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS” article:

BREAKING NEWS: We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS “article” in the useless “rag” that is, The Wall Street Journal. This historic legal action is being brought against the so-called authors of this defamation, the now fully disgraced WSJ, as well as its corporate owners and affiliates, with Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson (whatever his role is!) at the top of the list. We have proudly held to account ABC and George Slopadopoulos, CBS and 60 Minutes, The Fake Pulitzer Prizes, and many others who deal in, and push, disgusting LIES, and even FRAUD, to the American People. This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media. I hope Rupert and his “friends” are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case. Thank you for your attention

to this matter. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Trump vs. Murdoch et al. by sarahrumpf on Scribd

This is a breaking news story and has been updated.