Trump claims Wall Street Journal is looking to settle over Epstein story

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters on Air Force One that the Wall Street Journal is looking to settle the president's defamation lawsuit against the outlet over its story on Trump's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump sued the outlet earlier this month after it published a story claiming the president contributed to former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's 50th birthday project for the late, disgraced financier, which consisted of notes from close friends. The birthday gift was presented to Epstein in 2003.

The president has denied writing a birthday card for Epstein that was part of the project, which he claimed he told the outlet before it published the story. He has since claimed the story has caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” to him.

"I've been treated badly by the Wall Street Journal," Trump told reporters. "I would have assumed that Rupert Murdoch controls it, but, you know, maybe does, maybe doesn't. They are talking to us about doing something but we'll see what happens. Maybe they would like us to drop that, so we'll see ... they want to settle it. When I get treated unfairly, I do things about it."

The comment comes a day after Trump pushed for a deposition of Murdoch, who owns the outlet. The president specifically asked that the court set the timeline for Murdoch's deposition to 15 days. Murdoch was also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.