Donald Trump says he does not "draw pictures of women" as he challenges a report in the Wall Street Journal. Photo / File
Donald Trump says he does not "draw pictures of women" as he challenges a report in the Wall Street Journal. Photo / File
US President Donald Trump is seeking at least US$10 billion ($16.7b) in damages in a defamation lawsuit filed against media magnate Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal published a report on Friday saying Trump in 2003 wrote a suggestive birthday letter to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein,illustrated with a naked woman and referring to a shared “secret”.
Trump has called the purported letter a “scam” and “fake”.
The US$10b defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami on Saturday, is Trump trying to hit back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage.
In another bid to dampen outrage among his supporters about an alleged government cover-up of Epstein’s activities and 2019 death, Trump ordered his Attorney-General, Pam Bondi, to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against the disgraced financier.
Paedophile conspiracy
In a filing in New York, Bondi cited “extensive public interest” for the unusual request to release what is typically secret testimony.
Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.
The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump’s far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy paedophiles. Epstein’s death, declared a suicide, before he could face trial supercharged the narrative.
When Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamoured for revelations about Epstein’s supposed list of clients. But Bondi issued an official memo in July declaring there was no such list.
American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump are well known to have been friends. Photo / Getty Images
The discontent in Trump’s Make America Great Again base poses a rare challenge to the Republican’s control of the political narrative in the United States.
It remained unclear whether a court would authorise the unsealing of the grand jury testimony.
But even if such material were made public, it was also unclear whether it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories – particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list.
Asked Friday by reporters if he would pursue the broader release of information related to the case, Trump did not answer.
Naked woman and signature
Trump was for years close with Epstein and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties, although there has never been evidence of wrongdoing.
The Wall Street Journal article published Friday was damaging because it indicated a shared interest in sex.
The Journal reported that Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a letter featuring a hand-drawn naked woman and referring to their “secrets”. The letter was reportedly among a slew of well-wishes from other rich and well-known figures for a birthday album.
A furious Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the purported letter was a “scam” and “fake”.
Trump also said that the Journal’s chief editor, Emma Tucker, had been told the letter was fake and that she shouldn’t publish it.
According to the Journal, the Trump letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future President’s signature “Donald” mimicking pubic hair. It ends, according to the newspaper, with “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret”.
Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying: “It’s not my language. It’s not my words. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.”
US media has published multiple drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.
