Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion Friday over publication of a bombshell article on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein.

The defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, saw the 79-year-old Republican hitting back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage.

“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump posted on Truth Social late Friday.

The Journal reported Thursday that in 2003, the then-real estate magnate wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein, illustrated with a naked woman and alluding to a shared “secret.”

The lawsuit, which also names two reporters, the Dow Jones corporation, and Murdoch’s parent company News Corp. as defendants, claims that no such letter exists and that the paper intended to malign Trump with a story that has now been viewed by hundreds of millions of people.

“And given the timing of the Defendants’ article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply,” it said.

Dow Jones, the Journal’s longtime publisher, responded to Trump’s libel suit Friday saying it is standing by the story.

“We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” a Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement.

- Alleged cover-up -

In another bid to dampen outrage among his own supporters about an alleged government cover-up of Epstein’s activities and 2019 death, Trump ordered US Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against the disgraced financier.

In a filing in New York, Bondi cited “extensive public interest” for the unusual request to release what is typically secret testimony.

Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.

The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump’s far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles. Epstein’s death – declared a suicide – before he could face trial supercharged the narrative.

When Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamored for revelations about Epstein’s supposed list of clients. But Bondi issued an official memo this month declaring there was no such list.

The discontent in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base poses a rare challenge to the Republican’s control of the political narrative in the United States.

It remained unclear whether a court would authorize the unsealing of the grand jury testimony.

But even if such material were made public, there is no assurance it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories – particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list.

Asked Friday by reporters if he would pursue the broader release of information related to the case, Trump did not answer.

- Naked woman and signature -

Trump was close with Epstein for years, and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties, although there has never been evidence of wrongdoing.

The Wall Street Journal article published late Thursday was damaging because it indicated a shared interest in sex.

The Journal reported that Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a “bawdy” letter, part of an album of messages from rich and well-known figures.

According to the Journal, the Trump letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future president’s signature “Donald” mimicking pubic hair. It ends, according to the newspaper, with “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying “it’s not my language. It’s not my words.”

“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said.

US media has published multiple drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.