Inside the White House Struggle to Tame the Epstein Crisis Highlight

Soon after, aides told the president the Journal was preparing to report that in 2003, a letter bearing Trump’s name—containing typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman—had been included in a book of letters prepared for Epstein’s birthday.

Traveling back to Washington aboard Air Force One, Trump told his communications aides that such a letter didn’t exist, that he would never write such a letter, and that he would try to kill the story himself.

From the plane, he called Rupert Murdoch, chair emeritus of News Corp, the parent company of the Journal’s publisher, and told him the story wasn’t true and that he should handle it, according to a person familiar with the brief call. After the article’s publication, Trump sued Journal publisher Dow Jones, parent company News Corp and several individuals including Murdoch for defamation, calling the letter “nonexistent.” (This week the defendants moved to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit.) A spokesman for News Corp declined to comment.