Photo: Getty Images
President Donald Trump announced his intention to file a $15 billion lawsuit for defamation and libel against the New York Times following its release of articles on his ties to late financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social account.
Trump's post came after he already publicly threatened to sue the newspaper for its reporting on an alleged sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Epstein as part of his 50th birthday book released by House Democrats last week. The president accused the newspaper of lying about him, his family and businesses, as well as his 'America First' and 'Make America Great Again' political movements.
The lawsuit is expected to be filed in Florida, however, Trump didn't provide any additional details. Trump also threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal for its report on the doodle and note, which he called "defamatory" and "a fake thing" in a post shared on his Truth Social account.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” Trump told the newspaper in a phone interview in July via NBC News. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also claimed that "it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it" in a post shared on her X account.
The birthday book also reportedly included an alleged note to Epstein from former President Bill Clinton was also handed over to the House Committee. The alleged Clinton note referred to the late convicted pedophile as having "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference."
Trump had previously directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release "pertinent" grand jury testimony in the case against Epstein pending court approval amid scrutiny facing his administration.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social account.
“This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” he added.
Quinnipiac University released a poll in July showing a majority of Americans (63%) disapproved how Trump and his administration had handled the Epstein files. Podcaster Joe Rogan, who staunchly supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, criticized the administration's announcement claiming there was never a list or footage revealing Epstein's alleged clients, which was a talking point of conservative pundits for years.
“They’ve got videotape and all [of] a sudden they don’t,” Rogan said on the episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast released on Tuesday (July 15).
“You had the director of the FBI on this show saying, ‘If there was [a videotape], nothing you’re looking for is on those tapes,'” he added, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel's appearance on his podcast in June. “Like, what? Why’d they say there was thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible s–t? Why’d they say that? Didn’t Pam Bondi say that?"
Bondi had previously claimed that the supposed Epstein list was on her desk awaiting review months ago and told reporters that the FBI was reviewing "tens of thousands of videos" of Epstein "with children or child porn" on July 1 before the DOJ suddenly announced that there was no "Epstein list" or incriminating footage of his associates days later. President Trump spent months claiming he had plans to release everything the government had on Epstein and his alleged associates, which included releasing The Epstein Files: Phase 1 in February, though the files revealed next to no new information.
Trump, who had been photographed alongside Epstein in the past, claimed that he never visited the financier's notorious private island where numerous underage girls and young women were sexually abused, but claimed "a lot of people did."