Judge Dismisses Trump Defamation Suit Against Wall Street Journal
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled in Miami that the president failed to prove actual malice in claims over a 2003 birthday letter.
By Adrian Parker ·
MIAMI, Fla. A federal judge in Miami permanently dismissed President Donald Trump's multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal on Saturday. The ruling ends the legal battle over a story the newspaper published last year regarding a sexually suggestive letter in a birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles issued a 20-page order dismissing the case with prejudice. This legal designation means the suit cannot be refiled and the dismissal is permanent. The judge determined that Trump did not prove the defendants published defamatory statements with actual malice, a high standard required when suing a public figure.
In the ruling, Gayles described the lawsuit as "grasping at straws" while it attempted to "manufacture" flaws in the investigative reporting. The judge noted that Trump came "nowhere close" to showing the paper acted with actual malice, which requires proof that the statement was known to be false or published with disregard for the truth.
The dispute centers on a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. The Wall Street Journal reported that the album included a letter bearing Trump's name. Trump sued the newspaper, its parent company News Corp, the company's CEO, the reporters involved, and News Corp chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch. The president initially dismissed the story as "FAKE."
A redacted version of the birthday book was later subpoenaed by House lawmakers from Epstein's estate. That document became a central piece of evidence in the litigation. Then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that it was "very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."
Trump's legal team had previously refiled the suit after an earlier ruling by Gayles in April. That prior decision also found the team failed to clear the legal bar for their claim. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team said that the president will continue to press forward in his "powerhouse lawsuit" against the defendants. The team plans to hold those who mislead the American people with "Fake News and smears" accountable.
A source familiar with the legal strategy indicated that the decision will likely be appealed. The case was part of a broader wave of litigation Trump has pursued against media outlets regarding their coverage of the Epstein files.
