Judge dismisses Trump lawsuit over Wall Street Journal Epstein story

A federal judge has permanently dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its report on a sexually suggestive birthday letter allegedly bearing his name in a book for Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami ruled Saturday that Trump’s revised complaint failed to plausibly show that the Journal or the other defendants published defamatory statements with “actual malice” — knowledge that a statement was false or reckless disregard for whether it was true. Trump, a public figure, had to meet that standard to pursue the claim.

“As President Trump has not plausibly alleged that each Defendant made defamatory statements with actual malice, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed,” Gayles wrote. Because it was Trump’s second attempt, he said, dismissal with prejudice was appropriate, meaning the case cannot be refiled. CBS News reported that Gayles, in his 20-page ruling, described the lawsuit as “grasping at straws” to “manufacture” flaws in the Journal’s reporting.

The Journal reported last year on a birthday book Ghislaine Maxwell assembled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. The book appeared to contain a letter from Trump featuring the outline of a naked woman and what appeared to be his first name signed near her waist. A typewritten note portrayed an imaginary conversation with Epstein, who was later charged with sex trafficking.

Trump denies creating or signing the letter. His lawsuit accused the Journal of falsely presenting the drawing and signature as his and said the report caused him “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.” NBC News described the revised suit as a $10 billion case; CBS News reported that Trump initially filed a $20 billion suit against the Journal, its parent company News Corp, company executives, Rupert Murdoch and the reporters who wrote the story.

After the Journal’s report, Epstein’s estate provided a copy of the birthday book that included a letter matching the paper’s description. The White House maintains the document is fake. Then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”

Trump’s complaint faulted the Journal for not publishing an image of the letter with its initial story and for not interviewing Maxwell. The Journal’s lawyers countered that the article told readers Trump denied writing the letter and that reporters had sought an interview with Maxwell and included a comment from her attorney. They also argued that the letter’s later release supported the story’s accuracy and that sending a bawdy birthday message to a friend was not inherently defamatory.

Gayles had dismissed Trump’s first complaint in April for failing to meet the actual-malice standard. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told CBS News after Saturday’s ruling that the president would “continue to press forward” with the lawsuit. A source familiar with his legal strategy told CBS News the decision would likely be appealed.