WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on July 18 against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters, raising claims under federal libel law, court records show.

A copy of the complaint was not immediately available. The case was filed in Miami federal court.

The lawsuit comes after The Wall Street Journal

reported on a 50th birthday greeting to Jeffrey Epstein

that Mr Trump allegedly sent in 2003 that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.

Mr Trump aides were also expected on July 18 to ask a court to release grand jury testimony about Epstein, as the president fought back against concerns over his administration’s handling of the deceased convicted sex offender’s case.

Mr Trump vehemently denied the Journal report, which Reuters has not verified. Mr Trump warned Mr Rupert Murdoch, the founder of News Corp, the paper’s parent company, that he planned to sue. REUTERS

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