United States President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit Friday against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch following the newspaper's publication of a controversial report linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami and names Dow Jones & Company, News Corp, Murdoch, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, and Wall Street Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo as defendants. Trump's legal action alleges the defendants defamed him and caused "overwhelming financial and reputational harm."

The controversy centers on a Wall Street Journal article published Thursday that detailed an alleged birthday letter Trump sent to Epstein in 2003 for the financier's 50th birthday. The letter was reportedly part of a leather-bound album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate, who was later convicted of sex trafficking.

The newspaper reported that the alleged letter contained typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, apparently hand-drawn with a thick marker, and was signed simply as "Donald" below the figure's waist. The message reportedly concluded with the phrase "Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump vehemently denied authoring the letter and immediately threatened legal action against the publication.

"I never wrote a letter like this in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," Trump said, calling the story "false, malicious, and defamatory" and labeling the alleged letter a "FAKE."

In his lawsuit, Trump's legal team argues that the defendants "failed to attach the letter, failed to attach the alleged drawing, failed to show proof that President Trump authored or signed any such letter, and failed to explain how this purported letter was obtained." The complaint states that "no authentic letter or drawing exists" and accuses the defendants of concocting the story to "malign President Trump's character and integrity."

Trump warned Murdoch directly before the story's publication, posting on Truth Social that he had informed the media mogul "that it was a Scam and advised him not to publish this Fake Story." He added that Murdoch "stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so."

Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, responded to the lawsuit with a strong defense of its reporting. "We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit," a company spokesperson said.

The legal action comes amid heightened scrutiny of Trump's past relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. The case has generated conspiracy theories popular among Trump's supporters who believe the government has been covering up Epstein's connections to wealthy and powerful individuals.

Following the Journal's publication, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony related to the Epstein case. The Justice Department subsequently filed a motion in Manhattan federal court Friday to unseal those grand jury transcripts.

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Donald trump, Jeffrey Epstein, Rupert Murdoch, Lawsuit