White House Makes Move Against WSJ After Trump-Epstein Story
The Trump White House confirmed Monday that it removed a Wall Street Journal reporter from the press pool covering President Donald Trump’s weekend trip to Scotland in response to the Journal’s report allegedly detailing Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement to Politico saying, “As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces.”
“Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board. Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible,” added Leavitt.
She clarified that the Journal’s publication of the alleged contents of a “bawdy” letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein decades ago for the late convicted pedophile’s 50th birthday had resulted in the outlet’s punishment.
Trump also restricted White House access for the Associated Press after the global news agency refused to adopt the name “Gulf of America” in place of the Gulf of Mexico in its style guide. The AP initially won a legal challenge to restore access in April, but an appeals court put that ruling on hold in June.
Trump has since filed a defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its parent company, owned by Rupert Murdoch, seeking a staggering $10 billion in damages.
Trump says the story is a complete fabrication.
“There is no letter, no drawing, and no truth to this story,” the lawsuit states. Trump’s legal team blasted the Journal for what they call “glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting,” noting that the article didn’t actually publish the supposed letter or illustration, CNN added.
“The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” the lawsuit says.
The article, written by reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, was published Thursday afternoon. Both journalists are also named in the lawsuit.
Trump wasted no time responding following the publication of the story.
He said warned the Journal in advance not to publish what he called a “FAKE” letter and said Murdoch had personally promised to stop it. “The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“But, obviously, [Murdoch] did not have the power to do so,” Trump added.
The legal action comes as Trump ramps up pressure on media companies he believes are working against him. In recent months, his administration has taken on major outlets like ABC, CBS, Meta, and X, with most agreeing to financial settlements to avoid drawn-out court battles.
The Journal case, however, is shaping up to be a direct and highly public fight.
The 18-page filing accuses the Journal of knowingly pushing a false narrative for political reasons. Legal experts say it’s one of the most aggressive legal actions ever taken by a sitting president against the press.
“As far as I can tell, no sitting president has ever sued a reporter or media outlet or media executive for allegedly defaming him,” First Amendment attorney Ted Boutrous told CNN. “When you have the presidential bully pulpit, you simply don’t need to sue to get to the truth.”
Trump, however, has defied that norm. In 2024, he sued ABC News over anchor George Stephanopoulos’s repeated claim that Trump had been found guilty of rape in the E. Jean Carroll case, even though the jury found otherwise. Disney settled the case, agreeing to pay $16 million toward Trump’s future presidential library.
CBS, Meta, and X have also agreed to settlements in other defamation cases. Multiple lawsuits are still ongoing, and Trump has signaled more could be coming.
