Trump Challenges Murdoch Over Alleged Epstein Birthday Note in $10 Billion Libel Lawsuit

President Trump has urged a judge to allow his $10 billion libel lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch to proceed, asserting that The Wall Street Journal has failed to demonstrate the authenticity of a purported birthday note sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

In Monday's court filing, Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito argued that even though an identical birthday note was provided to the House Oversight Committee by Epstein's estate, this does not establish that Trump actually authored or sent such a letter.

"The defendants' reliance on a purported letter released over a month after the complaint was filed proves that defendants did not actually possess, or even review, any purported letter before publishing the false and defamatory article," Brito stated in the filing.

News Corp has not immediately responded to requests for comment regarding this latest development.

The Wall Street Journal report described a 2003 note featuring a sketch of an unclothed woman bearing Trump's signature, allegedly compiled with other messages into a "birthday book" for Epstein's 50th birthday. This article was published amid intense scrutiny over the Trump administration's handling of documents related to Epstein's criminal case.

Trump categorically denied authoring the letter in his lawsuit and accused News Corp and its chairman emeritus of defamation. The media company previously requested dismissal of the suit, contending that the July 17 article was substantiated when the Epstein estate provided the note to the House committee investigating the deceased financier's sex-trafficking activities.

In his lawsuit, the president, who has maintained he severed ties with Epstein nearly twenty years ago, accused Murdoch and News Corp of attempting to damage his reputation. Brito asserted in Monday's filing that the article sought "to wrongly and inextricably" connect Trump to Epstein.

"It is clear that the article intended to subject President Trump to public hatred and ridicule," the lawyer continued. "Defendants did not publish the article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal based on a mere harmless joke between friends."

Murdoch and News Corp have defended the accuracy of their reporting, noting that Trump "acknowledged his friendship with Epstein."

Legal representatives for News Corp and its 94-year-old chairman emeritus have characterized Trump's lawsuit as an attempt to suppress critical media coverage of the president. This case represents one of several legal actions Trump has initiated against media outlets, including a $15 billion lawsuit accusing the New York Times of damaging his reputation through allegedly false reporting.

"As the article reports, three months before the Birthday Book was gifted to Epstein, a New York magazine article quoted the plaintiff as saying that he had known Epstein for '15 years' and that Epstein was a 'terrific guy,' 'a lot of fun to be with,' and 'likes beautiful women as much as I do,'" Murdoch and News Corp stated in their previous filing.

The controversy continues as Democrats and some Republicans call for the Trump administration to release all government-held Epstein records, beyond the thousands of documents already made public.