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Federal judge in Miami permanently dismisses Trump's defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter story
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled Saturday that President Trump failed to show actual malice in his suit over a Journal story on an Epstein birthday letter. The dismissal with prejudice means the case cannot be refiled.
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What happened
A federal judge in Miami on Saturday threw out President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about his ties to a birthday book made for Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the case with prejudice in a 20-page ruling, CBS News reported.
A dismissal with prejudice is permanent, and the case cannot be filed again, according to both CBS News and PBS NewsHour. The two outlets reported different amounts for the suit. CBS News described it as a $20 billion lawsuit, while PBS NewsHour, publishing Associated Press reporting, described it as a $10 billion lawsuit.
What the judge found
No showing of actual malice
Gayles ruled that Trump did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice. As CBS News explained, that standard requires a public figure to show a statement was published with knowledge that it was false or with disregard for whether it was true. The judge said the lawsuit was "grasping at straws" and tried to "manufacture" flaws in the Journal's investigative reporting.
"The Amended Complaint falls short of pleading actual malice," Gayles wrote, according to PBS NewsHour. He described the malice allegations as conclusory, vague, sometimes inconsistent with the article and often irrelevant.
The Journal reported Trump's denial
The judge also noted that the Journal did not ignore or minimize Trump's denial. In his words, the story "informed readers that President Trump decried the Letter as a fake and denied writing it," PBS NewsHour reported. Gayles said several other allegations in the suit also lacked merit.
A landmark precedent
In the ruling, Gayles cited the Supreme Court's 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, according to PBS NewsHour. That case made it harder for public figures to win libel suits by requiring proof that a media outlet knowingly published something false or showed reckless disregard for the truth.
Background on the story and the suit
The birthday letter
The Journal published a story last year describing a sexually suggestive letter that the paper said bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. PBS NewsHour reported that the letter included a drawing and was reportedly collected by Ghislaine Maxwell years before Epstein was first arrested in 2006. Trump denied writing it and called the story "false, malicious, and defamatory."
House lawmakers later subpoenaed and obtained a redacted version of the birthday book from Epstein's estate, which included the letter, CBS News reported. Then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump did not draw the picture and did not sign it.
Who was sued
According to CBS News, the suit named the Journal, its parent company News Corp, the company's CEO, the reporters who wrote the story and Rupert Murdoch, News Corp's chairman emeritus. Gayles first dismissed the case in April but allowed Trump to file an amended complaint, which he did in May, PBS NewsHour reported.
How Trump's team responded
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team told CBS News that the president "will continue to press forward" in the lawsuit against the Journal and the other defendants. A source familiar with Trump's legal strategy told CBS News the decision will likely be appealed.
PBS NewsHour reported that the ruling comes as Trump is involved in legal fights with several other news organizations, including the BBC and The Associated Press. CNN, MS NOW and Politico are suing him for restored access after he barred them from the White House in mid-September. More coverage is available in our national news section.
What to watch next
- Whether Trump's legal team files an appeal, which a source told CBS News is likely.
- Trump's other pending legal disputes with the BBC and The Associated Press, as reported by PBS NewsHour.
- The lawsuit by CNN, MS NOW and Politico seeking restored White House access.
