Why Wall Street Journal Defamation Case Could Backfire In Discovery

Topline

President Donald Trump formally sued The Wall Street Journal and News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch on Friday for publishing a piece making allegations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein—but the effort could ultimately work against Trump’s interests by forcing him to turn over information about his relationship with the disgraced financier.

Donald Trump, now-wife Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at … More Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.

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Key Facts

Trump sued The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch and the journalists who wrote the story about a “bawdy” letter Trump allegedly sent Epstein for his 50th birthday, which reportedly included a drawing of a naked woman and Trump telling Epstein, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

The president alleges the newspaper and its employees defamed him by publishing the story, which Trump maintains is false, and by “falsely represent[ing]” the letter “as fact,” with Trump claiming the reporters and Murdoch reported on the letter despite knowing it didn’t exist.

The Journal is likely to next ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but if that request gets rejected and the case moves forward, it will then go to discovery, meaning both Trump and the Journal can seek evidence from the other party that could help their case.

It’s “reasonable” to expect the “Journal would then seek information from Trump about the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute, told Forbes, noting that could include any communications Trump had with Epstein or records detailing their friendship.

The specific information the Journal could seek will likely depend on the claims it makes in its court filings in the case—which haven’t been submitted yet—Fallow said, but noted the “general rule” in defamation cases is that parties “can seek discovery of anything that is relevant to a claim or defense raised in a proceeding in a lawsuit.”

That means depending on the claims the Journal makes in its defense, any evidence it tries to get from Trump in discovery “could go broader than just about this letter” and provide additional information about the president and Epstein’s relationship, Ballow said.

Crucial Quote

“I would think that [the Journal’s] attorneys … would say we want to, in order to determine whether anything here was false, see the context of the relationship between Trump” and Epstein, Fallow told Forbes about what evidence the newspaper could try to get during the discovery phase. “But it would sort of really depend on the specific request.”

What Has The Wall Street Journal Said?

The Wall Street Journal and Murdoch have not commented at all on whether they intend to pursue broad discovery against Trump in the case, and have not yet submitted any court filings detailing their legal arguments. A spokesperson for the Journal’s parent company Dow Jones said in a statement the company “[has] full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting” and “will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”

How Long Will The Defamation Case Take To Play Out?

If the lawsuit goes to the discovery phase, it will likely take years to play out and for any documents to become public. The case could also then go to trial after the discovery phase concludes, with Trump’s complaint requesting a jury trial to determine whether or not he was defamed. That being said, the litigation could also be resolved more quickly, if the court decides the case should be dismissed or the Journal reaches a settlement with Trump.

Big Number

$10 billion. That’s how much Trump is asking the Wall Street Journal to pay in damages if he wins the lawsuit.

What Does Trump’s Letter To Epstein Allegedly Say?

According to the Journal’s reporting, Trump’s birthday letter to Epstein features dialogue for an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein, saying:

“Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

The Journal did not publish the letter in full, and Trump has strongly denied its existence and that he drew the accompanying drawing, saying he “never wrote a picture.”

Surprising Fact

Trump’s defamation lawsuit comes after Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell previously sued Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre for defamation. That lawsuit led to a slew of documents regarding Epstein and others he associated with becoming public, after the Miami Herald successfully petitioned the court to have documents unsealed. Julie K. Brown, the Herald journalist who first uncovered the allegations against Epstein, noted the parallels between the two cases, writing on social media Friday, “We sued to unseal the docs that revealed the extent of Epstein & Maxwell’s sex trafficking operation. The lawsuit by Trump opens the door to learning the extent of his friendship with Trump.”

Will Evidence In Trump’s Defamation Case Become Public?

While any evidence that gets filed in the defamation case is likely to be filed under seal, meaning it’s not available for the public to view, parties including the Journal or other media organizations could ask the court to unseal the documents and make them public. Federal law favors such information being in the public interest unless parties can prove there’s a compelling reason for it to remain under seal, such as protecting trade secrets, The New York Times notes,, and media outlets have sought to unseal records in cases that are particularly high-profile, citing public interest in the case. That’s what happened in Maxwell’s case against Giuffre, as well as in voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Numerous documents detailing alleged conversations between Fox News executives and journalists were publicly released as part of that case in 2023, after The Times and other media outlets asked the court to unseal them.

Key Background

The Journal’s report on the alleged letter comes as Trump is increasingly coming under renewed controversy over his relationship with Epstein, who was accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 women and died in prison in 2019. Trump was known to be friends with Epstein during the 1990s and early 2000s, telling New York Magazine in 2002, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.” “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump said. The president then reportedly had a falling out with Epstein after a 2004 real estate dispute, and he has never been accused of any sexual misconduct in connection with Epstein. Public fascination in Epstein’s case has kept up since the financier’s death because of Epstein’s associations with high-profile figures such as Trump and President Bill Clinton—who has also not been accused of any wrongdoing—while key Trump allies like now-FBI Director Kash Patel have pushed conspiracy theories for years alleging a government “cover-up” of the FBI’s full files on Epstein’s case. Justice Department officials in the Trump administration, including Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, long promised they would release the Epstein files, but the DOJ abruptly reversed course earlier this month. The agency released a memo saying no further files would be released, also shooting down popular conspiracy theories about the case, such as the existence of an Epstein “client list.” That sparked a widespread backlash from Trump’s base, who have called for Bondi to resign, and intensified scrutiny on Trump, who has tried to downplay the Epstein claims as a “hoax.”