Trump’s lawyers wrote that several omitted details should prove actual malice in the eyes of the court, including the omission of how the defendants obtained a copy of the alleged birthday letter, if and how the contents of the letter were verified, and why the publication did not include an image of the letter in the July 2025 article.

The outlet reported that the alleged birthday letter, detailed in its story, was part of an album of letters from friends and acquaintances that Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, compiled for his 50th birthday. The outlet wrote that the letter and album came before Epstein was first arrested on sex crime charges. Trump’s lawyers flagged in the amended complaint that the outlet did not include Maxwell’s perspective.

“In addition, Defendants’ actual malice is demonstrated by their failure to either include what Maxwell told them in their interview or consultation with her, or the intentional refusal to interview Maxwell during Defendants’ newsgathering process,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the amended complaint. “Defendants’ failure to disclose what Maxwell told them, or refusal to speak with Maxwell about the alleged letter, plausibly infers that Defendants purposefully avoided whether the Defamatory Statements were true.”

In the online version of the outlet’s article, the Wall Street Journal wrote that “Maxwell didn’t respond to a letter requesting an interview sent to her in prison,” and that her lawyer, Arthur Aidala, provided them with the following statement: “At this point, she is focused on her case before the Supreme Court of the United States.”

WALL STREET JOURNAL CALLS TRUMP LAWSUIT ‘AFFRONT’ TO FREE SPEECH IN DISMISSAL REQUEST

Maxwell is currently in federal prison in Texas serving a 20-year sentence for her child sex trafficking conviction.

Trump, who has stated that he cut off ties with Epstein years before Epstein’s initial arrest, is seeking no less than $10 billion in financial and reputational damages from the defendants.