--- title: Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report description: The article alleged that President Donald Trump sent a “bawdy” birthday letter in 2003 to Jeffrey Epstein. canonical: https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-18T11:51:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-19T16:50:56.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report og:description: The article alleged that President Donald Trump sent a “bawdy” birthday letter in 2003 to Jeffrey Epstein. og:url: https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e92574f20d34445/6998c858a97fc0703ca7486f/GettyImages-2225280360.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Trump Returns To The White House On Tuesday Evening og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report twitter:description: The article alleged that President Donald Trump sent a “bawdy” birthday letter in 2003 to Jeffrey Epstein. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e92574f20d34445/6998c858a97fc0703ca7486f/GettyImages-2225280360.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/) Updated: Jul 19, 2025 4:50 PM UTCPublished: Jul 18, 2025 11:51 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House on July 15, 2025.Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/) Updated: Jul 19, 2025 4:50 PM UTCPublished: Jul 18, 2025 11:51 AM UTC President Donald Trump on Friday sued the _Wall Street Journal’_sparent firms Dow Jones and News Corp,its owner Rupert Murdoch, and two reporters over an [article](https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-letter-we-have-certain-things-in-common-f918d796?mod=hp%5Flead%5Fpos7) alleging that he sent a “bawdy” birthday letter in 2003 to Jeffrey Epstein. The complaint, which was filed in Miami federal court, wasn’t immediately available. But the court’s docket indicates that the President sued on allegations of libel, assault, or slander. The two reporters who wrote the article, Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, are listed among the defendants. Trump had previously threatened to sue the _Journal_ over the article, which was published on Thursday and alleged that a letter bearing Trump’s name “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.” The report added that “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.” The letter reportedly concluded with: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has denied writing the letter. “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he told the _Journal_. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” After the _Journal_ story was published, Trump took to Truth Social. “The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump [said](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114871422727186590). “Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so. The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway.” Trump also [said on Thursday](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/us/politics/trump-epstein-bondi-grand-jury-testimony.html) that he will ask a court to allow the release of additional documents related to Epstein. “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” he [said](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114871557460531003) on Truth Social. The _Journal_ report emerged at a time of heightened interest in the Epstein case. Republican lawmakers and MAGA supporters have [demanded a full disclosure](https://time.com/7302441/epstein-trump-bondi-republicans-maga/) of the so-called Epstein files, after the Justice Department and the FBI [said](https://time.com/7300378/epstein-client-list-suicide-blackmail-conspiracy-theories-doj-fbi-memo/??) last week that Epstein indeed died by suicide, there was no “client list,” and no further documents would be released. Epstein, who mingled with a range of high-profile figures, was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking. He was found dead at a correctional facility in New York while awaiting trial, which a medical examiner ruled a suicide. But his death has fueled conspiracy theories, which [Trump had also stoked](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/trump-epstein-internet-conspiracy-theories-rcna218633) for political gain while on the campaign trail. Trump has lashed out at supporters over the Epstein saga. “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump [posted](https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/32018) on Truth Social on Wednesday. On Thursday, the White House [cast](https://time.com/7303241/jeffrey-epstein-trump-special-prosecutor/) Trump’s earlier criticisms as swipes at Democrats. The White House also tried to close the door on his role in the Epstein scandal and rejected calls for a special prosecutor to investigate the Epstein case further. **Read More:** [_The Jeffrey Epstein Scandal Is Snowballing and Trump Can’t Seem to Stop It_](https://time.com/7302426/jeffrey-epstein-files-trump-takeaways/) Minutes after Trump’s directive on Thursday, Attorney General Bondi [said](https://x.com/AGPamBondi/status/1946014427670851643) on X: “We are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.” The MAGA world has expressed misgivings about the letter to Epstein. “Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullsh-t,” Vice President J.D. Vance [said](https://x.com/JDVance/status/1945995384200806709) on X. “Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?” Elon Musk, Trump’s former ally-turned-foe, also [questioned](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1945988059033448944) the _Journal_ report, as have alt-right including [Laura Loomer](https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1945997775583257004), [Jack Posobiec](https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1945989714554613974), [Charlie Kirk](https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1945990111142838476), and [Matt Walsh](https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1946019633347125575).But Democrats and Trump critics have seized on the _Journal_ report. “Trump's letter to Epstein isn't surprising. Trump is a creep,” [wrote](https://x.com/CoryBooker/status/1946022774637564236) Sen. Cory Booker (D, N.J.) on X. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D, N.Y.), [posted](https://x.com/NydiaVelazquez/status/1946047835595563502): "We need transparency now. Release the files.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/"},"headline":"Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report","datePublished":"2025-07-18T11:51:12.000Z","dateModified":"2025-07-19T16:50:56.000Z","description":"The article alleged that President Donald Trump sent a “bawdy” birthday letter in 2003 to Jeffrey Epstein.","url":"https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e92574f20d34445/6998c858a97fc0703ca7486f/GettyImages-2225280360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e92574f20d34445/6998c858a97fc0703ca7486f/GettyImages-2225280360.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Returns To The White House On Tuesday Evening","caption":"President Trump Returns To The White House On Tuesday Evening","creditText":"Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7303381/trump-epstein-documents-wsj-letter/","name":"Trump Sues Over Wall Street Journal's Epstein Report"}}]}] ```