A federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Trump failed to establish that the Journal had acted with “actual malice” when reporting on Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit was originally filed over a Journal story that described a sexually suggestive letter that included Trump’s name. The letter, which was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday, read: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
President Trump later called the letter, and the story, “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
The complaint asserted that the publication acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
However, Judge Gayles found that Trump had not plausibly alleged that each defendant made defamatory statements with actual malice, and therefore the Amended Complaint must be dismissed. The court also found that dismissal with prejudice was appropriate, as this was President Trump’s second attempt to allege his claims. A dismissal with prejudice prevents the plaintiff from bringing the same claim again in the future.
A spokesperson for the president indicated that the ruling may be appealed. “President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants,” the spokesperson said. “The President will continue to hold those who mislead the American people with Fake News and smears accountable for their actions.”
The lawsuit had also named the Wall Street Journal’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, as a co-defendant. Despite the president’s pleas to intervene and prevent the story from being published, the article was eventually published under the title “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”
