‘Not an easy evening’: Trump as Wall Street Journal wins award for Epstein report
President Donald Trump and Weijia Jiang watch as Oz Pearlman performs at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC. (Photo: AP)US President Donald Trump found himself in an awkward spot at Friday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, watching on as Wall Street Journal reporters picked up awards for the very story that led him to file a $10 billion defamation lawsuit last year.
Trump smiled and shrugged as WSJ journalists were honoured multiple times through the evening, and shook hands with some of the award winners.
When it was his turn to speak, he said it had “not been an easy evening” listening to their work being praised. He added, “All these awards… Do I have a say?” Later in his remarks, Trump repeatedly called Trump to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. The message reportedly referred to Epstein as a “pal” and alluded to shared secrets between the two, paired with a suggestive drawing, The Independent reported.
Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter or that the signature on it is his, and insists he cut ties with Epstein years before the financier who died by suicide in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges came under investigation. Trump has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
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What’s the status of Trump’s lawsuit?
Trump sued the Journal, its parent company, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the journalists behind the story last July, claiming the letter did not exist and calling the report “false” and “malicious,” The Independent reported.
A federal judge ruled in April that Trump had failed to show the story was published with “actual malice,” the legal bar for proving defamation, but left the door open for him to file an amended complaint, which he later did.
Lawyers for the Journal have said the lawsuit does not include any credible claim that the paper knowingly published false statements, arguing the story is accurate and the underlying evidence is publicly available.
