NEWSDonald Trump Brings Ghislaine Maxwell Into Revived $10 Billion 'Wall Street Journal' Lawsuit Over Epstein Letter Story
Donald Trump refiled his lawsuit against 'The Wall Street Journal.'
June 2 2026, Published 9:34 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump is reopening one of his highest-profile media battles, refiling a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its reporting on an alleged birthday letter sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
The amended complaint comes after a federal judge dismissed Trump’s first lawsuit in April, finding that his team had not sufficiently argued “actual malice,” the legal standard public officials must meet in defamation cases.
The Epstein Letter at the Center
The amended complaint referenced Ghislaine Maxwell’s statements.
The lawsuit stems from a Journal article about a 2003 birthday album compiled for Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell. The article described a lewd letter allegedly bearing Trump’s signature, which Trump has denied writing.
The House Oversight Committee later released the letter in September after receiving it from Epstein’s estate. Trump’s new lawsuit continues to claim that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.”
Trump’s legal team is again seeking $10 billion, though the basis for that figure remains unclear.
Ghislaine Maxwell Becomes Part of Donald Trump’s Case
Donald Trump continued disputing the alleged Jeffrey Epstein birthday letter.
In the revised filing, Trump’s lawyers cite Maxwell’s July 2025 interview with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, now acting attorney general. During that sit-down, Maxwell said she did not remember Trump submitting a letter, card or note for Epstein’s birthday album.
“Indeed, Maxwell has stated, subject to penalty of perjury for lying to a federal officer, that she did not remember President Trump submitting a letter for Epstein’s 50th birthday,” the lawsuit states.
The timing could complicate that argument. The Journal article was published before Maxwell’s interview with Blanche took place. The original story also said Maxwell did not respond to a prison interview request.
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What Donald Trump Must Prove
Donald Trump is required to prove that 'WSJ' published false information.
To move forward, Trump must show WSJ, its publisher Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Judge Darrin P. Gayles previously found there was significant evidence the Journal had tried to determine whether the letter was genuine. He also wrote that Trump’s denial alone did not prove the paper acted with serious doubts.
The amended complaint claims Murdoch told Trump, “I will handle it,” after Trump called him to deny the story. Trump’s lawyers argue he reasonably understood that to mean Murdoch believed him and that the article would not be published.
Another Media Fight
The case added to the president’s broader media legal battles.
The case adds to Trump’s ongoing legal campaign against major media companies. He has previously secured settlements from CBS and ABC News, while lawsuits against The New York Times and the BBC remain pending.
For now, the refiled Journal lawsuit turns on a narrow but difficult question: whether Trump’s team can prove the paper crossed the line from aggressive reporting into actual malice.
