President Donald Trump ramped up his threats of a lawsuit against his on-and-off ally, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Friday following The Wall Street Journal’s report about his alleged birthday card to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — saying he can’t wait to compel the conservative news titan to testify.
His threats to Murdoch — whose massive News Corp media conglomerate owns the Journal as well as Fox News and the New York Post, among other titles — follow the newspaper’s publication Thursday of a 50th birthday greeting that the president reportedly sent Epstein in 2003, which was described as including a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to “secrets” both men shared.
“I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social on Friday. “That will be an interesting experience!!!”
The president has denied ever writing such a greeting to Epstein or even drawing “pictures of women,” though the allegations arrive in the middle of his administration’s attempts to dismiss the so-called Epstein files as a Democratic “hoax” after his Department of Justice announced it found no evidence to support conspiracy theories about the sex trafficking case.
The Justice Department’s attempt to draw the investigation to a close has renewed scrutiny into the president’s relationship with Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of minors before he was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
“The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday night. “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper.”
Roughly one hour earlier, in a lengthier post, Trump said he “personally” warned Murdoch against publishing the story, “and, if they print it, they will be sued.”
“Mr Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so,” Trump said.
Trump also said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt “directly” told The Journal’s editor Emma Tucker that the letter was a “FAKE.”
“Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway. President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr Murdoch, shortly,” he wrote.
Following The Journal’s report, the president — under growing pressure from his allies in Congress and in right-wing media — directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” in a social media post.
The president cited “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein” for his directive, which falls far short of demands to make all case files public, not just limited testimony presented in federal court.
Bondi, accused by far-right allies and conspiracy theorists of participating in a cover-up, immediately responded to Trump’s order.
“President Trump — we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” she wrote.
It was not immediately clear what evidence she could produce, given that grand jury transcripts are highly protected.
Trump routinely threatens media outlets, publishers and journalists with legal action over antagonistic coverage, and his allies in Congress and in his administration have promoted legislation and policy measures to kneecap public media, press access, and protections for confidential sources.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump sued ABC News and CBS News for monumental sums, and both networks recently agreed to settle, sparking fears among press freedom advocates that publishers are only emboldening the president’s chilling message to the media.
Now Murdoch has found himself in the line of fire. His Fox News empire was accused of promoting bogus conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election to promote Trump’s campaign. The network ultimately settled that defamation lawsuit, which was brought by voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems, for a record-breaking $787 million.
The Independent has requested comment from News Corp.
“These kinds of threats are not normal in a free society,” Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression Bob Corn-Revere said in a statement to The Independent. “And let’s be clear: Trump has won no rulings from any court in his previous clashes with other news organizations. Instead, he has been able to use the levers of government to coerce settlements from regulated media companies. This abuse of power doesn’t convert frivolous claims into valid actions.”
