Washington DC [US], July 19 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday filed a libel lawsuit against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and reporters who wrote a story about a collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, including a note bearing Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman.
The lawsuit seeks at least USD 20 billion, and Trump has denied writing the note, CNN reported.
In a post on Truth Social, he said, "BREAKING NEWS: We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS 'article' in the useless 'rag' that is, The Wall Street Journal. This historic legal action is being brought against the so-called authors of this defamation, the now fully disgraced WSJ, as well as its corporate owners and affiliates, with Rupert Murdoch and Robert Thomson (whatever his role is!) at the top of the list. We have proudly held to account ABC and George Slopadopoulos, CBS and 60 Minutes, The Fake Pulitzer Prizes, and many others who deal in, and push, disgusting LIES, and even FRAUD, to the American People."
"This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media. I hope Rupert and his "friends" are looking forward to the many hours of depositions and testimonies they will have to provide in this case. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he added.
In the 18-page filing, Trump's legal team accuses the Journal's parent company of engaging in "glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting." The filing notes that the Journal, in its story, did not publish the drawing or the letter that its reporters allege Trump authored.
"The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists," Trump's lawyer wrote in the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Miami.
Trump had threatened to sue almost immediately after the story, which was written by Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, was published late Thursday afternoon. Both reporters are named as defendants in the lawsuit, as per CNN.
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