Legal expert reveals Trump's chances if he sues over Epstein letter

CNN ' senior legal analyst has cast doubt on Donald Trump 's chances for a successful suit against the Wall Street Journal after the paper alleged he sent Jeffrey Epstein a letter for his 50th birthday that contained a drawing of a naked woman. The president promised to sue longtime publisher Rupert Murdoch 's '[expletive] off' in response. Shortly after, host Abby Phillip asked panelists on CNN NewsNight how 'credible' Trump's threat of retaliation really was.

'It would surprise me if he wins,' Elli Honig, a former federal prosecutor, said, after acknowledging the Journal's previous reporting and pristine reputation. Trump's threat, meanwhile, had painted the prestigious Murdoch-owned publication as a 'third rate newspaper.' He also claimed the letter was a 'fake' and that words quoted from the correspondence were not his. 'Also, I don't draw pictures,' he said.

The argument was not able to sway Honig, however - who quickly cast cold water on the hypothetical case. 'He really has to show two things,' he said of Trump. 'That the Wall Street Journal defamed him that the statements here were damaging to him. That seems clear. 'The harder part though, is going to be to show that they acted with what we call actual malice, meaning that they knew that what they reported was false or that they were reckless as to its falsity,' Honig continued.

'That's the really hard part to show. '[The] Wall Street Journal, I believe they tend to know what they're doing. They tend to have their stuff buttoned up. 'So, it wouldn't surprise me if he sues, and it would surprise me if he wins,' he continued 'Not knowing the facts, but just knowing how high the legal bar is.'

Phillip then observed how it 'seems that the Journal has evidence that [the letter from Trump to Epstein allegedly sent in 2003] does, in fact, exist. 'And that it's perhaps among the many, many, many documents that are in the possession of investigators,' she said. Phillip had been referring to the roughly 300 gigabytes of information from the FBI's case file on Epstein.

Shortly after the report was published, Trump wrote on Truth Social that because of 'the ridiculous amount of publicity' Epstein is getting , he had commanded Pam Bondi 'to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury Testimony, subject to Court approval.' Only Bondi has authority over the evidence, but not over grand jury materials specified by the president. Honig, in turn, told his fellow panelists why he believed releasing only grand jury testimony was effectively a ruse, as the administration continues to face backlash for its handling of the case.

'What Donald Trump said to do there is not to turn over all the Epstein files,' he told Phillip and others on-set. 'I really wanna make sure people understand the context here of what he did say he wanted released, because it is a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of those files.' Honig went on to point to the massive size of the Epstein file, painting it as proof of the amount of unseen information.

'I talked to a tech guy,' he added. '"That’s equal to about 100,000 ebooks, ok? So, think about a book, 300 pages. A hundred thousand of those. That’s how much information’s in the entire Epstein file. 'The grand jury transcripts means the written transcript that the court reporter takes of whoever went into the grand jury and testified,' he explained. 'So already, you are leaving out tons of documents. 'Most witnesses, as a federal prosecutor, don’t even go into the grand jury. They just talk to you in a conference room, not in the grand jury,' Honig continued.

'So we’re talking about 1 percent, 2 percent. And it’s not as if Pam Bondi can just release this stuff tomorrow. She has to go into a court. She has to explain to and convince a judge this stuff needs to be turned over.' Scott Jennings, meanwhile, slammed the Journal's report as 'a dud' due to a lack of evidence. Phillip - pointing to Trump's responses - countered by saying 'Trump doesn’t agree with you'. The Journal report, meanwhile, contains a strange, imaginary dialogue between the two men said to have been penned by Trump.

The conservative has been bombarded with accusations that his name is on the list of long-sought-after Epstein clients. Last week, the DOJ announced that the long-awaited 'client list' did not exist, after Bondi just months before bragged on Fox News that the list of alleged, potential accomplices was 'sitting on [her] desk right now to review.' That same month, in February, the White House released a compilation of Epstein documents that turned out to contain no new information.

News Corp - the Murdoch-owned parent company of the Journal - declined to comment when asked about birthday letter allegedly sent to Epstein from Trump in 2003 and the promised, prospective lawsuit. Just last month, Tucker Carlson claimed the Murdoch family asked him to run against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election , adding 'The Murdochs really hate Trump. There's no one who hates Trump more than the Murdochs'. The Murdochs also own Fox News. Lachlan Murdoch - the son of 94-year-old Rupert - is the current chairman of News Corp.