Wall Street Journal story on Trump and Epstein took six months and 20 staff
Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker and Mill Media founder Joshi Herrmann both appearing at Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit in London on 6 May 2026. Pictures: Reuters/Chris J Ratcliffe Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker has said her team “ran towards the fire” with their reporting linking Donald Trump to Epstein’s birthday book – but that “at least” his legal threat came after publication and not before. Trump attempted to claim $10bn in damages over reporting that said he had sent a bawdy birthday card to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit was dismissed in April as a judge found he had not proved the WSJ had acted with actual malice as required under US defamation law. Speaking at Truth Tellers, The Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit in London on Wednesday, Tucker joked that the story had caused “a whole world of pain”. She said: “It’s a really good example of why the kind of journalism that we’re all endeavouring to keep alive and focus on is challenged, because it took an …









