Donald Trump’s derision of some supporters as “weaklings” is the latest spray in an ongoing attempt to shift the public conversation past calls for the full release of files linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case.<\/p>\n
“This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”<\/p>\n
Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, died in prison in 2019.<\/p>\n
Shortly after Mr Trump’s statement, Ms Bondi said on X that the Justice Department was ready to ask the court on Friday, local time, to unseal the grand jury transcripts.<\/p>\n
“President Trump \u2014 we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” she wrote.<\/p>\n
Trump to ‘sue Rupert Murdoch’ over Epstein birthday letters report<\/p>\n
In a post to his Truth Social platform on Thursday, the US president condemned what he called “a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein” report by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal (WSJ).<\/p>\n
The WSJ reported that Epstein was gifted a leather-bound book of “bawdy” letters from associates for his 50th birthday in 2003, including a letter bearing Mr Trump’s name alongside a drawing of a naked woman.<\/p>\n
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Donald Trump with his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Melania, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in Florida in February, 2000. (Getty Images: Davidoff Studios)<\/p>\n
“The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” the president said in his Truth Social post.<\/p>\n
“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper.”<\/p>\n
The comments came after Mr Trump also posted a separate statement to Truth Social, saying the White House had warned Mr Murdoch about the validity of the letter.<\/p>\n
“Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
“The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway.”<\/p>\n
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Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2016. (Reuters: Carlo Allegri)<\/p>\n
The letter revealed by the WSJ was reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a birthday album for Epstein years before the wealthy financier was first arrested in 2006 and subsequently had a falling-out with Mr Trump.<\/p>\n
The letter bearing Mr Trump’s name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, “Happy Birthday \u2014 and may every day be another wonderful secret,” according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n
The outlet described the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely.<\/p>\n
The ABC has contacted News Corp for further comment.<\/p>\n
Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted a year later on charges that she helped Epstein lure girls to be sexually abused.<\/p>\n
Epstein client list sparks growing MAGA rift<\/p>\n
It comes amid a growing rift within the president’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republican coalition over the Epstein files and a “client list” the FBI has said does not exist.<\/p>\n