Updated July 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM EDT
The controversy surrounding President Trump and the so-called Epstein files continued Friday as the president again criticized a story in the Wall Street Journal. Trump threatened to sue the publication Thursday night after the story published and then called for more case files to be revealed.
The Journal published an article Thursday that claims then-real estate mogul Trump contributed a lewd birthday letter to a compilation given to billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, three years before Epstein was arrested for prostitution-related offenses.
That article claims that among the materials in an Epstein investigation years ago was a book of birthday letters from 2003, including one with the outline of a naked woman where the signature "Donald" can be seen. The letter purportedly concludes with: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."
In a Truth Social post Thursday evening, Trump called the story "false, malicious, and defamatory" and said the Wall Street Journal, parent company NewsCorp and Rupert Murdoch, chairman emeritus of NewsCorp, were warned that they would face legal action if the story was published.
"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," the post read.
He repeated that threat Friday morning, calling the Wall Street Journal a "pile of garbage newspaper" and once again calling its owner out by name.
"I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his 'pile of garbage' newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!" he posted on Truth Social.
Trump also said Thursday he would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to release some files from Epstein's criminal case — though not the full court records.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," Trump posted.
Bondi said online Thursday that she'd be prepared to move in court to have these documents released Friday.
Trump doubled down on his false claim that interest in the Epstein files was a "hoax" perpetrated by Democrats in a separate post on Truth Social Friday, asking why a "smoking gun" on Epstein, who died during Trump's first term, wasn't released during the Biden administration.
"BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!" he wrote.
Trump's escalating response
Trump has faced backlash from his base after a review released last week by the Justice Department and FBI found no evidence to support conspiracy theories about the life and death of the financier.
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking children but died by suicide in his jail cell before he was tried in court. Though his death was ruled a suicide, some Trump supporters and others believe he was killed to silence him from revealing the names of powerful men who took part in the sexual abuse of underage girls.
Up until the memo was released a week ago, Bondi, Trump and other administration officials had pushed various conspiracies and claimed that files exposing the truth about the convicted sex trafficker would soon be published.
Following the revelation that there are no "Epstein files," much of the bad news cycle has been influenced by the president's own actions.
After telling his supporters to essentially move on from the Epstein story last weekend, according to the Journal, Trump's interview for the story happened Tuesday — one day before he called those who question the narrative around Epstein's death and are calling for more transparency "stupid" and "foolish."
The continued focus on the Epstein case has also highlighted other high-profile Republicans changing their positions to defend the president, like Vice President Vance.
Vance called the Journal story "complete and utter bull****" on X Thursday and said the outlet "should be ashamed for publishing it."
In 2021, Vance struck a different tune online:
"If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself," Vance wrote. "What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now but maybe try to do your job once in a while."
As recent as last month, Vance said on the Theo Von podcast that the government should "release the Epstein list."
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