Trump refiles $10bn lawsuit against WSJ over report on alleged Epstein ties

Donald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies. The lawsuit is one of several the US president has brought in his personal capacity against news organisations and is part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media. Trump’s lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, claimed the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper tarnished his reputation with an article describing a birthday card to the disgraced financier and sex offender Epstein as bearing Trump’s signature. Trump and his lawyers said the card was fake, even after it was released by lawmakers investigating Epstein’s case. Trump is seeking at least $10bn in damages, according to the amended lawsuit. He had sought the same amount previously. “At the time of publication, defendants recklessly disregarded whether the defamatory statements were true and/or they purposefully avoided the discovery of the truth,” lawyers for Trump wrote in the amended complaint. The lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court, names Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp and its CEO, Robert Thomson, along with two Wall Street Journal reporters, Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, as defendants, saying they defamed Trump and caused him to suffer “overwhelming” financial and reputational harm. …