Federal judge ends Trump's $10 billion suit against Wall Street Journal

President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones, has been dismissed by a federal judge. The ruling ends the legal battle over the newspaper's 2023 report concerning a letter attributed to Trump in a Jeffrey Epstein birthday book.

Judge Darrin Gayles of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the defendants, including media executive Rupert Murdoch. The decision was issued with prejudice, a legal designation that prevents the plaintiff from filing the same claim again in the future. This marks the second time the case has been thrown out by the court.

The dispute centers on a story published last year that described a letter bearing Trump's name. According to the newspaper, the letter featured typewritten text surrounded by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman made with a heavy marker. The text included the phrase "enigmas never age" and closed with the words, "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump has consistently denied writing or signing the document. His legal team argued that the newspaper committed defamation by publishing the story despite his denial. They contended that the outlet should have discarded other investigative findings and refrained from reporting when the president rejected the letter's authenticity.

In his 20-page opinion, Gayles rejected this argument. The judge stated that the law does not require journalists to abandon a story simply because a public figure denies an accusation. He wrote that such a standard would fly in the face of the American privilege to speak one's mind. Gayles found that the defendants conducted a thoughtful and detailed investigation into the matter.

The judge determined that the plaintiff failed to meet the legal standard for actual malice. In defamation cases involving public figures, courts require proof that the publisher knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Gayles concluded that the suit was grasping at straws to manufacture flaws in the newspaper's work.

The case originally sought $20 billion in damages before Trump’s team refiled with the reduced amount of $10 billion. The publication of the Epstein birthday book story coincided with intense bipartisan criticism of the Trump administration's handling of Epstein documents during the summer.