Judge Permanently Dismisses Trump's $10 Billion Libel Case Against Wall Street Journal
A federal court in Miami ruled that the president failed to prove actual malice regarding a story about a letter tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
By William Turner ·
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami permanently dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Saturday. The ruling was issued with prejudice, a legal standard that prevents the case from being refiled. Gayles stated that the president did not demonstrate that the defendants acted with actual malice, a requirement for public figures to win defamation claims.
The dispute centers on a Wall Street Journal story published last year. The article described a sexually suggestive letter and a drawing that the newspaper said bore Trump's name. The item was part of a 2003 album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday. According to the report, disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell collected the materials years before Epstein's first arrest in 2006.
The letter, which Trump denied writing, included text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman. It ended with the phrase, "Happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret." Trump characterized the reporting as false, malicious, and defamatory. His legal team alleged that the paper and its reporters knowingly published numerous false statements that caused overwhelming financial and reputational harm to the president.
This is the second time the court has thrown out the suit. Gayles initially dismissed the case in April but allowed Trump to file an amended complaint, which he submitted in May. In the new ruling, the judge cited the Supreme Court's 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. That precedent requires public figures to prove that a media outlet knowingly published false information or showed a reckless disregard for the truth.
Gayles wrote that the amended complaint fell short of pleading actual malice. He noted that the allegations were conclusory and vague. The judge also observed that the Journal did not minimize Trump's denial of the letter. Instead, the article informed readers that the president decried the letter as a fake and denied writing it.
The dismissal adds to a series of legal conflicts between the White House and news organizations. Trump has pursued lawsuits against the BBC, The Associated Press, and other outlets. Recently, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico sued for restored access after Trump banished them from the White House in mid-September. The White House did not immediately react to the Saturday ruling or respond to requests for comment.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019. He was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges at the time of his death.
