Skip to main content
See every side of every news story
Published • loading... • Updated

Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter is dismissed with prejudice

The judge said Trump failed to show actual malice, ending his $10 billion case and barring him from refiling the claims.

  • On Saturday, District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed President Donald Trump's lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice, permanently barring the president from refiling claims over reporting on an alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
  • Trump filed the $10 billion defamation suit last year challenging The Wall Street Journal's 2025 report about a sexually suggestive letter in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday, which Trump consistently denied writing.
  • Gayles determined Trump failed to prove 'actual malice,' the legal standard for defamation, finding the president's allegations were 'conclusory, vague' and often irrelevant to whether Defendants knew the statements were purportedly false.
  • The Supreme Court's landmark ruling in The New York Times v Sullivan establishes that Trump's arguments ran afoul of the First Amendment, with Gayles adding the president has been 'grasping at straws' to prove his case.
  • Dismissal with prejudice prevents President Trump from pursuing further legal action against The Wall Street Journal, News Corp, or media mogul Rupert Murdoch regarding the Epstein story.
Insights by Ground AI

89 Articles

BTBT
+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Lean Right

Trump says article about Epstein's birthday greeting is slander. He's demanding $10 billion.

·Borås, Sweden
Read Full Article
Pittsburgh Post-GazettePittsburgh Post-Gazette
+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Center

'Grasping at straws': Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter

Saying the president was “grasping at straws,” a federal judge on Saturday threw out Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall...

·Pittsburgh, United States
Read Full Article

A U.S. federal judge rejected on Saturday, October 31, a complaint in defamation of Donald Trump against the Wall Street Journal for an article assigning him a letter to sexual criminal Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Read Full Article
Lean Left

Miami District Judge Darryn Gayles on Saturday finally dismissed US President Donald Trump's lawsuit seeking $10 billion in damages from The Wall Street Journal for alleged defamation over an article about Trump's ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Read Full Article
Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 49% of the sources are Center
49% Center

Factuality Info Icon

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

Info Icon

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

Durango Herald broke the news on Saturday, October 31, 2026.
Too Big Arrow Icon
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics

News
Feed Dots Icon
For You
Search Icon
Search
Blindspot LogoBlindspotLocal