US District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch on Monday.
US District Judge Darrin Gayles, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ruled that the former president failed to meet the 'actual malice' standard required for public figures to win defamation claims.
Trump's legal team alleged the newspaper published false information regarding his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, Gayles noted that the complaint failed to demonstrate that the publication acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Failure to prove malice
According to the court ruling, the Wall Street Journal reporters contacted Trump for comment prior to publication and included his denial in the report. This inclusion, the judge said, allowed readers to evaluate the claims themselves.
“This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” Gayles wrote. “Quite the opposite.”
The lawsuit centered on a July 17, 2025, article describing a sexually suggestive letter allegedly signed by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. According to expansion.mx, the report claimed the letter included a hand-drawn picture of a naked woman by the then real estate mogul and made reference to a 'secret' shared between the two men. Trump claimed the birthday greeting was a fake and sought $10 billion in damages for the alleged harm to his reputation.
The letter in question was part of a collection of records subpoenaed by the US Congress from Epstein’s estate.
News Corp’s Dow Jones & Company, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, defended the accuracy of the reporting. The judge noted that Trump has until April 27 to file an amended version of the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team announced that the team intends to refile the lawsuit, stating, "The President Trump will follow the ruling and the instructions of Judge Gayles to refile this powerful lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all other defendants."
This lawsuit is part of a broader pattern of legal actions taken by the former president against media organizations he accuses of publishing false news. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the dismissal.
