Overview
- Trump filed the amended complaint on May 28, 2026, seeking at least $10 billion and repeating claims that a July 2025 Journal article falsely linked him to a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
- The new filing names Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo and says the defendants 'recklessly disregarded' whether the story was true.
- A federal judge in April dismissed Trump’s first suit for failing to plausibly allege 'actual malice,' the legal standard that requires showing a defendant knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
- The Journal and Dow Jones have defended the reporting and said they will vigorously defend the case, while lawmakers previously released documents that include a letter matching the Journal’s description of the 2003 item.
- The suit is part of a broader pattern of legal pressure by the president on news organizations, a development that could increase legal costs for newsrooms and raise new questions about reporter protections and discovery in defamation cases.