Overview
- Trump filed an amended defamation complaint on May 28 that renews his demand for multibillion‑dollar damages over the Wall Street Journal’s 2025 report linking him to a 2003 congratulatory letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
- The suit alleges the newspaper published the letter and an obscene drawing with 'malice' and contends reporters and the publisher acted in bad faith.
- A federal judge in Florida preliminarily dismissed Trump’s first complaint in April after finding he had not plausibly alleged the required 'actual malice' showing for a public figure to win a defamation case.
- The Wall Street Journal says its story rested on review of Epstein‑case documents that referenced the alleged letter, while Trump denies writing the note or making the drawing.
- The dispute sits inside the larger Epstein record controversy: Trump tried to delay release of millions of related files, Congress later forced DOJ disclosure, and critics say the released records contain missing material and unexplained redactions.