Trump Refiles $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Reporting

President Trump refiled a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its publisher over a July 2025 article titled 'Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.' The lawsuit, which is seven pages longer than the original, continues to claim that the alleged 2003 letter to Jeffrey Epstein does not exist. A Florida judge had dismissed Trump's previous complaint in April 2026, ruling that Trump had not 'plausibly alleged' that the Journal published the article with 'actual malice.' This represents part of a broader pattern of SLAPP-style litigation against media outlets, with Trump bringing multiple lawsuits in his personal capacity against news organizations while serving as president, creating a chilling effect on press freedom.

"Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump." — Title of the Wall Street Journal article that prompted Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit