U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his legal battle against The Wall Street Journal, filing a revised defamation lawsuit against its publishers after a court dismissed his previous complaint last month.
The dispute centers on a report about an “obscene” birthday letter that the newspaper said Trump sent to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A federal district court in Florida dismissed the original lawsuit in April. Judge Darrin P. Gayles ruled that Trump had not plausibly shown that the newspaper acted “with malice” when it published the alleged letter to Epstein, and that the lawsuit failed to meet key legal standards.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that in his amended filing, Trump again claims the newspaper acted with malice. The filing also highlights that the president has repeatedly denied any involvement in the letter.
As in his previous lawsuit, Trump is seeking at least $10 billion in damages.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a 2003 birthday letter sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday appeared to bear Trump’s signature. According to the newspaper, the letter contained sexually suggestive text and a drawing of a female figure in marker. Trump has denied writing it.
He subsequently sued the newspaper and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, whose media empire includes the WSJ, also seeking $10 billion.
Trump has repeatedly targeted media organizations he considers hostile, including The Washington Post, CNN, and the BBC.
Last year, after prolonged resistance from Trump, Congress compelled the Justice Department to begin releasing large volumes of documents and photographs linked to years of investigations.
Trump was among individuals who had social connections with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, there is no evidence linking him to Epstein’s criminal activities, and the president has maintained that he was never “friendly with Jeffrey Epstein.”
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