President Donald J. Trump is going to war with the corporate press—filing a bombshell $20 billion libel lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent company Dow Jones, and two of its reporters, over what he calls a “completely fabricated” smear tying him to Jeffrey Epstein.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Miami, accuses the Journal of printing a salacious and false story alleging Trump once sent Epstein a birthday letter that included a drawing of a naked woman—claims Trump flatly denies and says are politically motivated hit pieces.

“There is no letter, no drawing, and no truth to this story,” the lawsuit states. Trump’s legal team torched the Journal’s reporting as a blatant violation of basic journalistic standards, slamming the article for failing to publish any physical evidence to support the allegations. “The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” the complaint continues.

The now-infamous article was written by Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo and published Thursday afternoon. Both are named in the lawsuit, along with Dow Jones & Company, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

In a Truth Social post following the article’s release, President Trump confirmed he had personally warned the Journal and Murdoch not to publish the so-called “letter,” stating that it was a known fake.

“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.

“But, obviously, [Murdoch] did not have the power to do so,” he added.

Dow Jones responded with a boilerplate statement claiming confidence in its reporting and vowing to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit.

But Trump’s legal offensive is far from a bluff. His administration has been steadily ramping up pressure on legacy media companies accused of defamation, misinformation, and politically motivated attacks. In recent months, Trump has taken legal action against ABC News, CBS, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter), with several outlets opting to settle quietly to avoid courtroom exposure.

One high-profile example: ABC News and its parent company Disney agreed to a $16 million settlement in 2024 after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump was found guilty of rape in the E. Jean Carroll case—despite the jury explicitly rejecting that charge.

The lawsuit against the Journal is shaping up to be even more significant, with legal observers calling it one of the boldest moves ever taken by a sitting U.S. president against a media institution.

“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 lawyer Ted Boutrous told CNN. “When you have the presidential bully pulpit, you simply don’t need to sue to get to the truth.”

But Trump has never played by D.C.’s rules—and that’s exactly why his base supports him. He’s made clear that the days of press immunity are over when it comes to pushing false narratives designed to derail his administration.

The lawsuit also comes as renewed attention surrounds Epstein’s ties to elite political and business figures. Earlier this month, Trump’s Justice Department said there is no evidence Epstein had a “client list” or was murdered—an official stance that has divided opinion within Trump’s base.

Despite that, Trump has vowed transparency. His administration recently moved to unseal grand jury records related to Epstein, signaling that no stone will be left unturned.

With the Journal doubling down and Trump showing no sign of backing off, this case could reshape the battlefield between conservative America and the corporate press.