Judge Permanently Dismisses Trump's $10 Billion Libel Suit Against Wall Street Journal

President Donald Trump can no longer pursue his $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media executive Rupert Murdoch. A federal judge in Miami permanently dismissed the case on Saturday, ruling that the president failed to establish that the defendants published defamatory statements with actual malice.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles issued the dismissal with prejudice. This procedural term means the case is closed and cannot be refiled. The court found that the lawsuit attempted to identify flaws in the newspaper's investigative reporting that did not exist under the legal standard for public figures.

The legal dispute centers on a story published by The Wall Street Journal last year. The article described a sexually suggestive letter and a drawing that the paper said bore Trump's name. The items were part of a birthday album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and former associate of Epstein, reportedly collected the materials.

The letter in question features text framed by the outline of a hand-drawn naked woman. It ends with the phrase, "Happy Birthday, and may every day be another wonderful secret," according to the newspaper. Trump denied writing the letter. He described the reporting as false, malicious, and defamatory.

The original complaint, filed in federal court in Miami, accused the Journal and its reporters of knowingly and recklessly publishing numerous false statements. The suit alleged that these claims caused the president overwhelming financial and reputational harm. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Judge Gayles had previously dismissed the suit in April. At that time, the judge stated that Trump had not made the argument that the article was published with malicious intent. However, Gayles allowed the president to file an amended complaint, which Trump's legal team did in May. The Saturday decision addresses that amended version.

In his ruling, Gayles cited the Supreme Court's 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. That precedent requires public figures to prove that a media outlet knew a statement was false or showed a reckless disregard for the truth. The judge found that the amended complaint failed to meet this burden.

Gayles wrote that the allegations regarding malice were conclusory and vague. He noted that some claims were inconsistent with the article itself. The judge also pointed out that the Journal's story did not minimize Trump's denial. The article explicitly informed readers that the president decried the letter as a fake and denied writing it.

The dismissal adds to a series of legal and public confrontations between the administration and news organizations. Trump has engaged in lawsuits involving the BBC, The Associated Press, and CNN. MS NOW and Politico are also involved in a dispute after suing for restored access to the White House following their banishment in mid-September. The White House did not provide an immediate public reaction to the Saturday decision.