White House blocks WSJ access to Donald Trump’s Scotland trip over Epstein story

The White House has barred The Wall Street Journal from travelling with Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to Scotland, after the paper reported that he wrote a bawdy birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. Picture: Getty Images.

The White House barred The Wall Street Journal from travelling with US President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to Scotland, after the newspaper reported that he wrote a bawdy birthday message to his former friend, alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The move comes after Mr Trump on Friday sued the WSJ and its media magnate owner, Rupert Murdoch, for at least $US10bn ($15.34bn) over the allegation in the article, which Mr Trump denies.

The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case has threatened to split the Republican’s far-right Make America Great Again base, with some of his supporters calling for a full release of the so-called “Epstein Files”.

The punishment of The Wall Street Journal marks at least the second time the Trump administration has moved to exclude a major news outlet from the press pool over its reporting, having barred Associated Press journalists from multiple key events since February.

“As the appeals court confirmed, The Wall Street Journal or any other news outlet are not guaranteed special access to cover President Trump in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in his private workspaces,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“Due to The Wall Street Journal’s fake and defamatory conduct, they will not be one of the 13 outlets on board (Air Force One).”

Mr Trump will depart this weekend for Scotland, where he owns two golf resorts, and will meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice, under Trump-appointed Attorney-General Pam Bondi, said there was no evidence suggesting disgraced financier Epstein had kept a “client list” or was blackmailing powerful figures before his death in 2019.

In its story on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Trump had written a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein in 2003, illustrated with a naked woman and alluding to a shared “secret”. Epstein, a longtime friend of Mr Trump and multiple other high-profile men, was found dead by hanging in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida.

The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Mr Trump’s far-right MAGA supporters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles.

Epstein’s death – declared a suicide – before he could face trial supercharged that narrative.

Since returning to power in January, Mr Trump has moved to increase control over the press covering the White House.

In February, the Oval Office stripped the White House Correspondents’ Association of its near century-old authority to oversee which outlets have access to certain restricted presidential events, with Mr Trump saying he was now “calling the shots” on media access.

In a statement, WHCA president Weijia Jiang urged the White House to “restore” the Journal to the pool.

“This attempt by the White House to punish a media outlet whose coverage it does not like is deeply troubling, and it defies the First Amendment,” she said.

“Government retaliation against news outlets based on the content of their reporting should concern all who value free speech and an independent media.”

AFP