Judge Ends Trump’s WSJ Epstein Letter Lawsuit

A US federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent company Dow Jones, and Rupert Murdoch. The case concerned the Journal’s report about a letter bearing Trump’s name that was reportedly included in a 2003 birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein. The letter allegedly contained suggestive text and an outline of a woman’s body. Trump has denied writing or signing it and argued that the newspaper defamed him by publishing the story. Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning Trump cannot file the same suit again. The judge had previously dismissed an earlier version, which sought $20bn, before Trump’s legal team refiled for $10bn. In a 20-page ruling, Gayles said the Journal had conducted a “thoughtful and detailed” investigation and characterized the lawsuit as “grasping at straws” to manufacture flaws in the reporting. The judge found that Trump’s legal team had not shown that the defendants acted with “actual malice”—the demanding legal standard in defamation cases involving public figures. That standard requires evidence that a defendant knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true. Gayles rejected the argument that the Journal should have abandoned its reporting after Trump denied writing the letter. He said that accepting such a rule would undermine the First Amendment and prevent journalists from publishing negative or contradictory reporting whenever a public figure denied an allegation. The article also places the case amid bipartisan criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein-related documents. It describes the reported letter’s contents, including typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman and a joking reference to “enigmas,” while consistently presenting the letter’s authorship and details as allegations reported by the Journal.

A federal judge in Miami dismissed with prejudice President Donald Trump’s amended $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, The Wall Street Journal and other defendants. The case concerned the Journal’s July 2025 report that an album of letters for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday included a letter bearing Trump’s signature. Trump has denied writing it. Judge Darrin Gayles found that Trump again had not plausibly alleged that the defendants published the article with “actual malice,” a legal standard public figures must meet in defamation cases. The ruling followed Gayles’s dismissal of Trump’s original complaint in April, when he gave Trump an opportunity to amend it. Dismissing the amended suit with prejudice prevents Trump from refiling the same claims in federal court, though his legal team said he would appeal. Gayles rejected Trump’s arguments that the Journal’s investigation was inadequate, that the article omitted relevant details, and that the newspaper should not have published it after Trump and his representatives denied the letter was authentic. The judge said allowing public figures to block unfavorable reporting simply by denying a story would conflict with First Amendment protections for speech and the press. He did not decide whether Trump actually authored the letter, and described the Journal’s reporting process as a “thoughtful and detailed investigation.” The Journal’s report said the letter was written at the request of Epstein’s close friend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of procuring underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. It described a drawing of a naked woman, a signature resembling Trump’s, and a closing message wishing Epstein another “wonderful secret.” Trump called the letter fake and denied drawing or writing it. The newspaper’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co., welcomed the court’s decision. The dismissal is another setback in Trump’s litigation against media organizations; separately, a Miami judge ordered him to sit for a deposition in his defamation suit against the BBC by December 11.

A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its owner News Corp, and media magnate Rupert Murdoch. The suit concerned the newspaper’s July 2025 report that Trump had sent Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy birthday letter in 2003, reportedly including a drawing of a naked woman. Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot refile it, after finding that Trump had not adequately shown the defendants acted with “actual malice.” Gayles had rejected an earlier version of the suit in April as well. The article describes the controversy’s political context. The House Oversight Committee published a copy of the alleged note, which presents a short exchange between “Donald” and “Jeffrey” and ends with Trump’s signature placed on the outline of a nude woman. Trump denies wrongdoing related to Epstein and has not been charged with any crime connected to the affair. His name appears repeatedly in the Epstein files, whose release he opposed for months before signing legislation requiring their publication. The Epstein case has drawn scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans, while Trump’s supporters have long advanced claims that powerful figures were shielding Epstein associates. With the November 3 midterm elections approaching, Democrats have reportedly spent more than US$35 million on Epstein-related advertisements. The article also notes other legal and political developments involving Trump, including a separate lawsuit seeking to block his proposed triumphal arch near a military cemetery in Washington. A judge questioned the government’s national-security justification for the project; Trump said he would see whether it could be built. The piece situates these disputes within the broader role of the courts in constraining a president facing relatively limited political opposition in Congress.