Trump sues Wall Street Journal for $10B over Epstein birthday letter report
President Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal over claims he sent Epstein a lewd birthday letter.
WASHINGTON – Sen. Amy Klobuchar hit back at President Donald Trump after he blamed Democrats for the backlash his administration faces over its handling the Jeffrey Epstein case – making a comparison to a viral video taken at a Coldplay concert that sparked days of controversy.
Some prominent Republicans, GOP voters and Democrats alike have accused the Justice Department of botching a review of files on the disgraced financier. Online conspiracies have long circulated about a scandalous Epstein “client list” and the convicted sex offender’s death by suicide in 2019.
However, the Justice Department and FBI released a report detailing the opposite, finding no client list or proof Epstein was murdered.
Still, the Trump administration is under pressure to release all information the government may have on Epstein.
In response, Trump in a July 18 Truth Social post said, “If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!”
Trump was referring to former Attorney General Merrick Garland, who served under President Joe Biden, and former FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired in 2017 following an investigation into his first presidential campaign.
But Klobuchar told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Trump blaming Democrats is “like that CEO that got caught on camera blaming Coldplay. Okay, like this is his making.”
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron last week was seen embracing his company’s chief people officer at a Boston-area performance by the band Coldplay. Byron resigned from his role after the video immediately went viral and prompted widespread jokes and speculation.
The Minnesota Democrat added, “It is the Trump administration that has made this promise that they’re going to release it. So I am – blaming Democrats for this, to me, I’m sorry. This is – the people that have been fomenting this are right-wing influencers, members of Congress.”
Adding fuel to the fire is a Wall Street Journal report that Trump sent a lewd letter to Epstein on his 50th birthday. Trump has denied the report and sued the Journal over it. He’s also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce more Epstein documents amid public clamor for the records.
Contributing: Zac Anderson and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY
