WSJ moves to dismiss Trump’s $10B lawsuit over alleged letter in Epstein birthday book
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on September 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, England. This is the final day of President Trump’s second UK state visit, with the previous one taking place in 2019 during his first presidential term. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Wall Street Journal and its parent companies, Dow Jones and News Corp., on Monday moved to dismiss President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit over the paper’s July article reporting on an alleged letter from Trump that was included in a 50th birthday book for the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
The motion contends that the article is true.
“The Birthday Book as produced by the Epstein estate and later publicly released by the House Oversight Committee contains a letter identical to the one described in the Article,” the motion states.
The motion further contends that the article is not defamatory, arguing that “there is nothing defamatory about a person sending a bawdy note to a friend, and the Article cannot damage Plaintiff’s reputation as a matter of law.”
“The Complaint should be dismissed with prejudice, and the Court should award Defendants their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs,” the motion states.
Trump filed the lawsuit in July in federal court in Florida, seeking damages of at least $10 billion.
The president has argued that the letter is fake and that the signature on the letter is not his.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The temporary detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” was built on a rarely used airstrip in the Florida Everglades. Peter Charalambous/ABC News
(OCHOPEE, Fla.)– A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration and the state of Florida to effectively wind down operations at the controversial immigrant detention center in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” over environmental concerns.
In an 82-page ruling Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the government from transferring any additional detainees to the site or performing any more construction work.
Within 60 days, the judge ordered the Trump administration to remove temporary fencing, industrial lighting, generators, sewage and waste receptacles from the site.
A coalition of environmental groups and a Native American Tribe sued over the site, arguing that the government bypassed necessary environmental reviews before constructing the sprawling facility. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs that Florida officials and the Trump administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act, risking irreparable harm to the sensitive environment of the Everglades.
“Plaintiffs have provided extensive evidence supporting their claims of significant ongoing and likely future environmental harms from the project,” the judge wrote.
The preliminary injunction marks one of the most high-profile uses of environmental law to challenge the Trump administration’s policies.
“Every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades. This Order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises,” the judge wrote.
Florida officials are already signaling plans to appeal today’s decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, filing a notice of appeal in Florida federal court.
The environmental groups that filed the lawsuit celebrated the decision as a “landmark victory for the Everglades.”
“This brutal detention center was burning a hole in the fabric of life that supports our most iconic wetland and a whole host of endangered species, from majestic Florida panthers to wizened wood storks. The judge’s order came just in time to stop it all from unraveling,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.
There were two major lawsuits challenging the use of the facility — one based on the limited legal access to the facility and another based on environmental concerns. Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed part of the lawsuit related to legal access because the Department of Justice designated a nearby immigration court for the facility.
(CHELAN COUNTY, Wash.) — The U.S. Marshals Service has declared Travis Decker, the 32-year-old father accused of allegedly killing his three daughters this summer, to be dead, according to a court filing obtained by ABC News.
“The United States Marshals Service has advised the Defendant TRAVIS CALEB DECKER is deceased,” according to the document, which was filed to dismiss the case and quash the arrest warrant for Decker.
Decker, an Army veteran, was previously wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping.
His daughters — Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5 — had left home for a planned visitation with him on May 30, and never returned, officials said. Three days later, the girls were found dead near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington, following a search, police said.
Decker had been on the run since, sparking a multi-agency manhunt.
The declaration of Decker to be dead comes after the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office announced on Sept. 18 that remains located in a remote wooded area were believed to be the fugitive father.
While officials are still waiting on DNA testing to confirm whether the remains are Decker’s, the sheriff’s office said last week “preliminary findings suggest the remains belong to Travis Decker.”
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison told ABC News on Wednesday that they are not dropping their charges on Decker and will wait until DNA confirms the remains found belong to the father.
Morrison said he will make an announcement when they receive confirmation from the DNA results.
The remains were found on Sept. 18 in Leavenworth, Washington, when a drone carrying out a search found an “anomaly,” which was later discovered to be a shirt, consistent with what Decker had been wearing around the time of the killings.
Authorities also found U.S. Ranger shorts, chewing tobacco and a bracelet.
Morrison told reporters last week all indications are that Decker died in that location a while ago.
“We are praying that the remains found are confirmed to be Travis’s. We continue to be grateful for law enforcement’s efforts in this case and are forever appreciative of the entire world’s love, compassion, and support for Whitney,” Arianna Cozart, the attorney for Whitney Decker — Decker’s ex-wife and mother of the three girls killed — said in a statement last week.
Decker’s daughters were each found with plastic bags over their heads and their wrists were zip-tied, according to court documents previously obtained by ABC News.
An autopsy determined the girls’ cause of death to be suffocation and the manner of death was homicide, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said on June 9.
Decker’s truck was recovered at the scene but he was not found
The U.S. Marshals Service was previously offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading directly to Decker’s arrest.
Views from the Drift Hotel March 25, 2019 Overseas Highway, Key Largo Florida (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)
(KEY LARGO, Fla.) — The family of the 8-year-old old boy who was bitten by a shark while snorkeling off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, on Labor Day released a statement Wednesday thanking those who helped with his rescue.
Richard Burrows was bitten by a blacktip shark Monday afternoon while snorkeling with his father, David, and his sister, his family said in their statement.
The incident occurred around 3:24 p.m. on Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. The child was airlifted by Trauma Star to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
“Richard’s 10-year-old sister, Rose, was instrumental in her brother’s rescue and both of her parents are immensely proud of the strength of character and composure she demonstrated under pressure,” the family statement said.
A good Samaritan, identified as Richard Hayden, heard calls for help over the radio and helped guide the boy’s boat to shore, according to an incident report. Hayden assisted the child’s father in applying tourniquets to the boy’s right leg to control bleeding before emergency responders arrived, the report stated.
The family thanked Hayden in their statement, as well as law enforcement, first responders and medical staff.
“Richard is recovering well from his surgery and is gaining strength by the day. He is in good spirits,” the family statement said. “Our hope is that he will be back enjoying his passion for the ocean and marine life with his older sister in no time.”
“The Burrows family sincerely appreciate and thank everyone for their messages of support and well wishes and assistance in these past days. We now request some privacy for the family to focus solely on Richard’s recovery and will not be commenting further,” the family statement concluded.
The Labor Day attack marks the latest in a series of shark encounters in the Florida Keys region. Last July, Jose Abreu, 37, survived multiple bites from a bull shark while spearfishing near a reef off Key West.
The area has seen several serious shark incidents in recent years. Jameson Reeder Jr., who lost his leg in a bull shark attack in 2022, recently returned to the same waters where he was bitten.
“I was a little scared before I jumped in,” Reeder told ABC News in July. “For a split two seconds, it was like a whole flashback of the shark attack, but I knew I had the Lord and I just had a lot of fun.”
Scientists say there has been an increase in shark populations, which they attribute to warmer water temperatures and successful conservation efforts.
