NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his \u200bties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit \u200cis one of several Trump has brought in his personal capacity against news organizations, part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump’s lawsuit said the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper tarnished his reputation with an article describing a birthday card to \u200bdeceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as bearing Trump\u2019s signature. Trump and his lawyers said the card is \u200bfake, even after it was released by lawmakers investigating Epstein\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump is seeking at \u2060least $10 billion in damages, according to the amended lawsuit. He had sought the same amount previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“At the time \u200bof publication, Defendants recklessly disregarded whether the Defamatory Statements were true and\/or they purposefully avoided the discovery of the \u200btruth,” lawyers for Trump wrote in the amended complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court names Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp (NWSA.O), opens new tab and its CEO Robert Thomson, along with two Wall Street Journal reporters, Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, as defendants, saying they \u200bdefamed Trump and caused him to suffer “overwhelming” financial and reputational harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dow Jones has said it has full confidence in \u200bthe rigor and accuracy of the Journal\u2019s reporting and will vigorously defend the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, died \u200cin \u2060a New York jail cell in 2019. His case generated conspiracy theories that became popular among Trump’s base of supporters who believed the government was covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful. Trump has said he parted ways with Epstein before the financier’s legal troubles became public in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles, \u200ban appointee of former President \u200bBarack Obama, threw out \u2060Trump\u2019s first complaint in April. The judge found Trump had not met the \u201cactual malice\u201d legal standard for public figures in defamation cases, which requires evidence that a defendant \u200bpublished a statement that they knew or should have known was false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has also \u200bfiled defamation \u2060and other lawsuits against other media organizations, including the New York Times, the BBC and Iowa\u2019s Des Moines Register. Those outlets have denied wrongdoing and are fighting the cases in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s administration has acted to restrict press access to government \u2060agencies \u200band threatened to use regulatory powers against critical outlets, drawing legal \u200bchallenges by media organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House has described Trump as the most open and accessible U.S. president ever, saying his administration has broadened press \u200baccess in unprecedented ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n