The White House has said it will remove the Wall Street Journal from the prespool during US President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Scotland.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said that the changes were made “because of the false and defamatory behaviour of the Wall Street Journal”.
Earlier it became known that US President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against the owner of The Wall Street Journal newspaper News Corp, the founder of News Corp media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and two WSJ reporters. He is seeking compensation of at least $10 billion for the publication, which claims that in 2003 Trump allegedly sent Jeffrey Epstein a congratulatory letter with a candid drawing and a hint of “shared secrets”. Trump insists that the article is patently false and has caused enormous damage to his reputation and financial interests.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s letter was allegedly part of a gift book for Epstein’s birthday. It contained phrases framed by a drawing of a nude woman and signed “Donald.” Trump, who was friends with Epstein, claims to have severed ties with him long before his first arrest.
Jeffrey Epstein was a financier who was accused of creating a network to recruit and sexually exploit underage girls that operated for years. He committed suicide in prison while in custody in 2019. His accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence.
Trump supporters suspect authorities are covering up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures. Under public pressure, Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek declassification of grand jury transcripts in the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The DOJ has already filed a motion to do so, promising to protect the victims’ identities.