<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President Donald Trump is filing a libel lawsuit against the publisher of the </span><em><span>Wall Street Journal</span></em><span> and reporters who wrote a story about a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-friendship-wall-street-journal-birthday-card-message-usa-news/57c8d6c9-e06e-4969-a798-d4135cb9da82" rel="" target="" title="collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday"><span>collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday</span></a><span> in 2003, including a note bearing Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to the docket filed in federal court in South Florida, Trump is suing for libel, assault and slander. A copy of the lawsuit was not attached to the docket.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has denied that he wrote the note.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-friendship-wall-street-journal-birthday-card-message-usa-news/57c8d6c9-e06e-4969-a798-d4135cb9da82" target="_blank"><strong><span>'May every day be another wonderful secret': Trump denies Epstein birthday message</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump had threatened to file a lawsuit almost immediately after the story, which was written by </span><em><span>Journal </span></em><span>reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, was published late Thursday afternoon. Both reporters are named in the docket as defendants.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The </span><em><span>Wall Street Journal</span></em><span>, 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," the president said in a Truth Social post.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The president added in that post that Murdoch, the owner of News Corp, the </span><em><span>Journal's </span></em><span>parent company, "stated that he would take care of it."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-sues-wall-street-journal-jeffrey-epstein-birthday-card-report-usa-news/a1938fed-3253-4b3a-8020-e969fcd5d800" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But, obviously, did not have the power to do so," Trump added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CNN has reached out to the </span><em><span>Wall Street Journal</span></em><span> for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The president's relationship with Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who died in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump said during his 2024 campaign that he would consider releasing additional files on Epstein, vowing to fulfill the demands of influential right-wing figures who have long pushed for increase governmental transparency around the case and publicly casted doubt on whether his death was a suicide, as was ruled by multiple official investigations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A memo released by his Justice Department earlier this month claimed there is no evidence that Epstein, who rubbed shoulders with some of the most influential men in politics and business during the late 20th century, maintained a "client list" that named or implicated these men in alleged sex crimes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That revelation has disappointed some of the president's most loyal followers and was the catalyst of a split that threatened to fracture his MAGA coalition.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-diagnosed-with-chronic-venous-insufficiency/0b3c5e8c-7e0f-4b0a-bd79-805bbe347806" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump diagnosed with blood condition after troubling find</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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