President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, its owner and two reporters, over a report claiming Trump wrote a “bawdy” personal note to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.The lawsuit, filed in Miami, names Dow Jones, News Corp and conservative media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, claiming the paper slandered him and violated libel laws.Earlier, Trump had threatened that he would force Murdoch “to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper”.Trump says the note, which the paper reported he’d sent for Epstein’s 50th birthday, is “fake”. It comes amid a backlash from his supporters over his handling of the Epstein case files.Trump acknowledged that he and members of his staff attempted to halt publication of the story. He said the newspaper and Murdoch “were warned directly” they would be sued if they printed the article, describing it as “false, malicious, and defamatory”.The lawsuit also names the two reporters who wrote the story, Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo.Earlier on Friday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, writing: “I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!”According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a letter bearing Trump’s name “contained several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker”.”Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person,” the paper reports.It reportedly contains a joking reference that “Enigmas never age” and allegedly ends with the words: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”T …
