Federal Judge Throws Out Trump’s $10 Billion Epstein Lawsuit Against the Wall Street Journal
A federal judge has dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, ruling that the president fell far short of the legal standard required to prove the paper acted with actual malice when it published his alleged birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Darrin Gayles, an Obama appointee, wrote in his ruling that Trump’s legal team came nowhere near demonstrating that the Journal deliberately ignored the truth or acted with serious doubts about the accuracy of its reporting. The court noted that before publication, the WSJ reached out to the president, the Justice Department, and the FBI for comment and included Trump’s denial in the piece.
The article in question, first published last July, described a message Trump allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday, accompanied by what the paper reported was a hand-drawn sketch of a nude figure. Trump denied writing it, calling the letter a fabrication, despite a documented history of other Trump doodles having been auctioned publicly over the years. He sued the Journal the very next day, naming its reporters, publisher Dow Jones, parent company News Corp, and several executives.
While the judge dismissed the case, he left a narrow window open, giving Trump’s legal team until April 27 to refile with stronger factual support.
The lawsuit’s collapse comes as congressional pressure over the Epstein files continues to mount, and as more details about Trump’s documented ties to Epstein remain in the public eye.