The Wall Street Journal‘s bombshell exposé of a birthday note written by Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein has sent shockwaves throughout Washington. We already knew Trump and Epstein were close, though a newly unveiled message from Trump slyly telling Epstein “we have certain things in common”, that “enigmas never age”, and teasing that “may every day be another wonderful secret” is explosive stuff.
You don’t have to be an English professor to read between the lines on this, as it certainly sounds an awful lot like Trump and Epstein were so close as to share some dark secrets. As you would expect, Trump is now lashing out in all directions like a man on fire.
He instantly dubbed it “fake news”, dismissed it as a “scam”, said it was a Democrat plot, and that it’s “false, malicious, and defamatory”. But, in a fun twist, he’s also backing up his threats with legal action against News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, saying:
“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 *** off, and that of his third rate newspaper.”
That message indicates that Trump was forewarned that the Wall Street Journal (a Murdoch newspaper) was going to run the story. This clearly led to Trump himself making some panicky phone calls:
“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued.”
Trump’s chances not looking great
Fortunately, there’s a relatively simple solution to this. Wall Street Journal journalists will have put every possible effort into confirming that this note from Trump to Epstein is real before going public. They know that if it were eventually proven to be faked,it’d result in hundreds of millions of dollars of damages against them.
By simply confirming the contents without revealing the actual image, they can tie up the White House in denials right up until the moment they unveil it for maximum publicity. That’s showbiz, baby! At that point, even Trump’s lawyers may find it difficult to mount a legal case against Murdoch.
But don’t pop the champagne corks and start yelling “We got him!” yet. Trump has wriggled out of similar controversies many times before, and his pet press outlets are already lining up to quickly agree with him that it must be faked. Even so, if Trump is picking a fight with Murdoch, that’s an opponent with very deep pockets and some of the best lawyers in the world behind him. Sure, whoever wins, we lose, but grab some popcorn because it’s going to be fun watching the fur fly!
