Washington, Jul 19 (AP) President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Friday against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over the newspaper's reporting on ties between Trump and disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami. It seeks at least $10 billion in damages.

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On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published a story describing a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory.”

The letter was reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell years before the wealthy financier was first arrested in 2006 and subsequently had a falling-out with Trump.

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The Wall Street Journal describes the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely or provide details on how it came to learn about it.

Earlier Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts in Epstein's case amid heightened public interest in the disgraced financier's connection to Trump and other leaders, and as controversy continues to surround the Trump administration's handling of records related to Epstein.

Trump in recent days has called his own supporters “weaklings” for vying for more records from the Epstein probe. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)