Donald Trump may be in for another rough night at the White House Correspondents Association dinner.
The president will attend the event later this month, ending his 15-year boycott, only to witness the Wall Street Journal be rewarded for its bombshell story about him and Jeffrey Epstein.
The WHCAannouncedMonday that the Journal will be given the Katherine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability forreporting ona suggestive letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein in 2003. The letter, outlined in the shape of a female figure, is an imagined dialogue between the two former pals which concludes with the line: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.” A signature reading “Donald” appears at the bottom.
In 2002, Trump had told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” The pair’s friendship allegedlybroke downin the years that followed.
Epstein, of course, would go on to become a convicted child sex offender. He died in jail in 2019 after his arrest for sex trafficking minors from 2002 to 2005.
Trump, 79, insisted he wasn’t the author of the letter, and claimed that he doesn’t “draw pictures,” only for that excuse toblow up in his face. So aggrieved was he that he sued the Journal, its reporters, and publisher Dow Jones for $10 billion the day after publication.
Adding to the potential embarrassment that awaits Trump later this month is how a federal judge on Monday dismissed that defamation lawsuit. Judge Barrin Gayles wrote that the litigious president was “nowhere close” to proving that the Journal showed actual malice.
Dow Jones applauded the ruling.
“We are pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss this complaint. We stand behind the reliability, rigor and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting,” a spokespersontoldthe Daily Beast.
Trump responded on Truth Social that his legal team would be refiling the “powerful” case on or before April 27.
The White House Correspondents Dinner takes place Saturday, April 25 at the Washington Hilton.
Trump hasn’t attended the annual press event since 2011, when then-President Barack Obama made fun of him. But last month, he announced thathe had acceptedthe invitation—“in honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these ‘Correspondents’ now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast about how the Journal’s award may influence Trump’s behavior. Typically, presidents shake award recipients’ hands.
The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability, which comes with a $10,000 prize, will be presented to Khadeeja Safdar, Joe Palazzolo, Sadie Gurman, Annie Linskey, Josh Dawsey, Alex Leary, Rebecca Ballhaus and C. Ryan Barber.
The WHCA is also presenting Getty photographer Andrew Harnik its Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists. In November, Harnik captured Trump in the Oval Office standing around while others attend to a man who had fainted.
