Trump White House Bars Wall Street Journal Reporter Over Epstein Story, Files $10B Lawsuit

The Trump White House confirmed Monday that it barred a Wall Street Journal reporter from covering President Donald Trump’s trip to Scotland, citing the paper’s “defamatory” reporting on Trump’s alleged past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Politico that the Journal’s report prompted the decision. “Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board,” she said. The story reportedly referenced a decades-old letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday—an item Trump insists never existed.

In response, Trump has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, News Corp, owned by Rupert Murdoch. The suit claims “there is no letter, no drawing, and no truth” to the report and accuses the Journal of journalistic misconduct. Reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, who authored the piece, are also named in the lawsuit.

This incident is part of a broader crackdown by Trump on media organizations he believes are biased against him. The Associated Press was also recently denied access after it refused to use the term “Gulf of America” in place of “Gulf of Mexico,” sparking a legal dispute that remains unresolved.

Legal scholars have called the lawsuit against the Journal unprecedented. “You simply don’t need to sue to get to the truth,” said First Amendment attorney Ted Boutrous, noting the power of the presidential platform already available to Trump.