NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump submitted a revised defamation lawsuit on Wednesday demanding at least $10 billion in damages from the Wall Street Journal regarding their coverage of his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, following a federal judge’s dismissal of his original complaint due to legal shortcomings.
The legal action represents one of multiple lawsuits Trump has initiated in his individual capacity targeting news organizations, which critics characterize as part of a broader effort to pressure media outlets.
Trump’s legal filing alleges the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication damaged his standing through an article that depicted a birthday card to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as containing Trump’s signature. Trump and his legal team maintain the card is fraudulent, despite its release by lawmakers conducting an investigation into Epstein’s case.
The revised lawsuit seeks at least $10 billion in damages, matching the amount requested in the previous filing.
“At the time of publication, Defendants recklessly disregarded whether the Defamatory Statements were true and/or they purposefully avoided the discovery of the truth,” Trump’s attorneys stated in the updated complaint.
The legal action, submitted in Miami federal court, identifies Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp and its CEO Robert Thomson, plus two Wall Street Journal reporters, Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, as defendants. The lawsuit claims they defamed Trump and caused him to experience “overwhelming” financial and reputational damage.
Dow Jones has stated it maintains complete confidence in the thoroughness and precision of the Journal’s journalism and plans to vigorously contest the lawsuit.
Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, passed away in a New York detention facility in 2019. His situation spawned conspiracy theories that gained traction among Trump’s supporter base, who suspected the government was concealing Epstein’s connections to wealthy and influential individuals. Trump has stated he ended his relationship with Epstein before the financier’s legal problems became public knowledge in 2006.
U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, dismissed Trump’s initial complaint in April. The judge determined Trump had not satisfied the “actual malice” legal requirement for public figures in defamation cases, which demands evidence that a defendant published information they knew or should have known was false.
Trump has also initiated defamation and other legal actions against additional media organizations, including the New York Times, the BBC and Iowa’s Des Moines Register. These outlets have rejected wrongdoing allegations and are contesting the cases in court.
Trump’s administration has moved to limit press access to government agencies and threatened to employ regulatory authority against critical outlets, prompting legal challenges from media organizations.
The White House has characterized Trump as the most transparent and available U.S. president in history, claiming his administration has expanded press access in unprecedented ways.
