As President Trump flails about in a futile effort to change the narrative about his friendship with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his explanations have only drawn more attention to their connection.

Ironically, Trump’s resort to strong-arm litigation will likely lead to yet more damaging disclosures. History tells us why.

Over a century before Trump’s “powerhouse” defamation case against the Wall Street Journal for publishing an article about his supposed birthday note to Epstein, another outsize figure came to grief by filing an ill-advised libel action that he knew was false.

In 1895, the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde was the most renowned literary figure in the English-speaking world. By sheer force of personality, Wilde led an artistic movement that defied convention, offended propriety and created an esthetic revolution.

Then he wrecked it all by subjecting himself to a relentless cross-examination about his then-scandalous intimate life in a case he could not win.

Trump appears to be making the same mistake. His

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