“Promises made, promises kept” has been a recurring theme of the Trump administration. True to form, President Donald Trump followed through on a promise he made Thursday evening…with a Friday afternoon lawsuit.
The Wall Street Journal ran an “exclusive” on Thursday evening, claiming that its reporters had seen a birthday album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday (in 2003) by his partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, which included a “bawdy” birthday card from Trump to Epstein. Trump denied having authored the note and followed that up with a statement that he intended to sue the WSJ and Rupert Murdoch over the report.
READ MORE: Spoiler Alert: The Wall Street Journal’s Damning Trump-Epstein Scoop Is… a Birthday Letter
New: Trump Blasts WSJ Epstein ‘Scoop,’ Lawsuit Incoming
And so he did. Suit was filed Friday in the Southern District of Florida, naming as defendants Dow Jones & Co., Inc., d/b/a The Wall Street Journal, News Corporation, Keith Rupert Murdoch, Robert Thomson (CEO of News Corp.), Khadeeja Safdar (article co-author), and Joseph Palazzolo (article co-author). The 18-page complaint sets forth the pertinent chronology along with the vast dissemination of the article, and states a claim for defamation per se (defamatory on its face) and for defamation per quod (resulting in provable damages). The suit seeks $10 billion in compensatory and punitive damages for each count.
Following the suit’s filing, President Trump released the following statement on Truth Social:
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 07.18.25 06:51 PM EST
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…
— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 18, 2025
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 references, of course, his recent settlements reached with ABC (also for defamation) and CBS (for its deceptive editing of the Kamala Harris interview).
NEW: ABC News Apologizes to Trump, Pays Large Settlement in Defamation Suit
He also rather pointedly notes that he hopes Murdoch and the other defendants are looking forward to the discovery process. They may not be…but I suspect quite a few folks are.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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