Defamation Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal Dismissed
A federal judge in Miami has dismissed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Trump against the Wall Street Journal regarding an explosive article about an inappropriate letter Trump allegedly sent to the late Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s 50th birthday.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gales stated that Trump’s legal team “did not present a convincing argument” that the defendants acted with actual malice. However, he allowed Trump to submit a revised lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team indicated that the president intends to follow the judge’s instructions and refile the lawsuit, emphasizing his commitment to holding accountable those spreading misinformation.
Defamation cases against media entities are typically challenging for public figures. To succeed, they must demonstrate malice when it comes to false reporting. The judge pointed out that the Journal had reached out to Trump and his administration for comments before the article was published.
The Journal primarily focused on the letter, but House Democrats later revealed a vulgar drawing connected to Epstein’s estate. This document was obtained from a birthday book found posthumously.
The letter allegedly stated, “Happy birthday and may every day be another great secret,” and was signed by Trump.
Trump’s lawsuit, initiated in July 2025, argued that there was “no authentic letter or drawing” where he used “obscene language.”
The Wall Street Journal was contacted for a response to the lawsuit.
Prior to the publication of the article, tensions had been rising following reports by the FBI and Justice Department that found no evidence supporting claims of a “client list” associated with Epstein, and suggested his death in 2019 was likely a suicide.
The resulting controversy led to Congress passing the Epstein File Transparency Act, which compelled the Justice Department to release over three million pages of documents related to Epstein.
In his lawsuit, Trump targeted Dow Jones & Co., the Wall Street Journal’s publisher, and its parent company, News Corp., along with its executives and journalists.
Judge Gales noted that Trump’s assertions of contradictory evidence and failure to investigate did not sufficiently establish actual malice. He did not determine the factual accuracy of the article and refrained from awarding attorney’s fees, considering Trump may revise his claims.
Decades ago, Trump had associated with Epstein but cut ties after a falling out in the mid-2000s, citing Epstein’s behavior with staff at Mar-a-Lago. Trump claimed he distanced himself from Epstein well before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006.
Recently, Melania Trump made headlines by publicly denying being a victim of Epstein.
Since the 2024 election cycle, Trump has filed multiple lawsuits against various news organizations, including a $16 million settlement with ABC and CBS over their reporting. In September, his $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times was also dismissed.
Furthermore, he is pursuing a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC over what he calls misleading editing of his speech on January 6, 2021, amid ongoing efforts from the outlet to dismiss that case as well.
