The White House is removing The Wall Street Journal from the reporting pool covering President Donald Trump’s trip to Scotland this weekend, a move that comes just days after Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the newspaper over its coverage of his relationship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“As the appeals court confirmed, the Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Politico, which first reported the removal.
“Due to the Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the thirteen outlets on board. Every news organization in the entire world wishes to cover President Trump, and the White House has taken significant steps to include as many voices as possible,” she continued.
The removal comes after The Journal published a story last week alleging Trump sent Epstein a sexually suggestive letter for his 50th birthday, which Trump has denied.
The letter “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair,” The Journal reported.
The letter, per The Journal, ends with a happy birthday message followed by “and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
After the report was published, Trump was furious. He filed a libel suit claiming the allegations were “false, defamatory, unsubstantiated, and disparaging,” alleging The Journal has “clear journalistic failures.” He is seeking at least $20 billion across two counts of defamation.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “This lawsuit is filed not only on behalf of your favorite President, ME, but also in order to continue standing up for ALL Americans who will no longer tolerate the abusive wrongdoings of the Fake News Media.”
In a statement to CBS News, Journal parent company Dow Jones said, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”