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Donald Trump on Friday sued Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters for libel and slander over claims that he sent sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy note and sketch of a naked woman.
The lawsuit came just before the US justice department asked a New York court to unseal grand jury testimony transcripts from the federal sex-trafficking investigation into Epstein.
In the motion, the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, and her deputy, Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to Trump, write that the case is “a matter of public concern”. The filing also asks to redact “victim-related and other personal identifying information”.
Here is more on these and other key US politics stories of the day:
Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch
Donald Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal newspaper reporters for libel and slander over claims that he sent sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy note and sketch of a naked woman.
Trump’s lawsuit, which also targets Dow Jones and News Corp, was filed in the southern district of the Florida federal court in Miami.
‘He’s a lot of fun to be with’: Trump and Epstein were close friends for 15 years
To Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein was a “terrific guy”. Epstein believed himself to be Trump’s “closest friend”.
The relationship would eventually break down, and after Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier. But during the 15 years that the men were friends, there were plenty of incidents that displayed their closeness.
That past friendship with Epstein, the “terrific guy” turned “creep”, could now prove to be the president’s undoing.
Tulsi Gabbard calls for Obama to be prosecuted over 2016 election claims
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference.
Trump administration to destroy nearly $10m in contraceptives
The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need.
A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000.
Democrats say ‘people deserve to know’ if axing Colbert show was political
Democrats are condemning CBS for its decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, noting the news comes a few days after its host criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for settling a $16m lawsuit with Donald Trump.
Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who appeared as a guest on Colbert’s show on Thursday night, later wrote on social media: “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.”
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 17 July 2025
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