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US Justice Department files a question successful Manhattan national tribunal to unseal expansive assemblage transcripts successful the Epstein cases.
Published On 19 Jul 2025
United States President Donald Trump has filed a defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal work and its owners, including media magnate Rupert Murdoch, seeking astatine slightest $10bn successful damages implicit the work of a bombshell study connected the president’s relationship with the infamous high-society enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump filed the suit successful national tribunal successful the Southern District of Florida connected Friday, arsenic helium attempts to forestall a increasing ungraded astir the Epstein lawsuit from spreading further and threatening to origin him superior governmental damage.
Trump besides instructed the US Justice Department to record a question successful Manhattan national tribunal to unseal expansive assemblage transcripts successful the Epstein lawsuit and that of his erstwhile associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who successful 2021 was convicted of 5 national charges related to her relation successful Epstein’s intersexual maltreatment of underage girls.
In the defamation lawsuit, Trump accuses Dow Jones, News Corp, Murdoch and 2 Wall Street Journal reporters of acting with malicious intent that caused him overwhelming fiscal and reputational harm. Dow Jones, the genitor institution of the newspaper, is simply a part of News Corp.
Before filing the case, Trump wrote connected Friday greeting connected his societal media level Truth Social: “I look guardant to getting Rupert Murdoch to attest successful my suit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That volition beryllium an absorbing experience!!!”
In response, the Wall Street Journal proprietor Dow Jones said it volition “vigorously defend” against Trump’s ineligible action.
“We person afloat assurance successful the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and volition vigorously support against immoderate lawsuit,” a Dow Jones spokesperson said.
Trump denies penning lewd Epstein day message
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a missive bearing Trump’s signature was sent to Epstein for 1 of his day celebrations.
The paper said the missive contained a lewd handwritten notation to a woman, with the message: “Happy Birthday – and whitethorn each time beryllium different fantastic secret,” and featured the signature “Donald”.
Following publication, Trump denied sending the missive to Epstein and lashed retired astatine the newspaper.
Trump erstwhile considered Epstein a friend, and the contention surrounding the present deceased high-profile figure, who took his ain beingness successful prison, has prompted conspiracy theories, particularly among the far-right supporters of the US president.
Trump supporters were enraged past week erstwhile US Attorney General Pam Bondi reversed people connected the president’s predetermination run pledge to merchandise tribunal documents that immoderate believed contained damning revelations astir Epstein and his alleged elite clientele.
Epstein died by termination successful a New York jailhouse compartment successful 2019. Many among Trump’s basal of supporters judge the authorities is covering up Epstein’s ties to the affluent and powerful, and immoderate bash not judge helium died by his ain hand.
A Justice Department memo released connected July 7 concluded that Epstein killed himself and said determination was “no incriminating lawsuit list” oregon grounds that Epstein blackmailed salient people.
However, Bondi, the US lawyer general, had pledged months agone to merchandise large revelations astir Epstein, including “a batch of names” and “a batch of formation logs”, earlier reversing course. On Friday, Bondi’s Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said nationalist involvement successful the Epstein lawsuit had prompted the Justice Department to record a petition with the tribunal to unseal transcripts of the case.
Trump, who was photographed with Epstein aggregate times successful societal settings successful the 1990s and aboriginal 2000s, told reporters successful 2019 that helium ended his narration with Epstein earlier his ineligible troubles became apparent.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US) ·