It is the second time the judge has thrown out the case. A Trump spokesperson said he will press forward.
MIAMI – A federal judge on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owners over a report on a bawdy birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, ruling that the case cannot be refiled.
US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida dismissed Trump’s amended complaint with prejudice, finding that Trump failed to show the defendants acted with actual malice, which public figures must prove in defamation cases. The judge found Trump’s allegations of malice conclusory and inconsistent, in a 20-page ruling. It is the second time Gayles has thrown out the suit.
Trump sued in July 2025, a day after the Journal reported that a letter bearing his name, with a drawing of a naked woman, appeared in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. He sued Dow Jones, News Corp, News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, chairman Rupert Murdoch and two Journal reporters. Trump has denied writing the letter or drawing the picture. The House Oversight Committee later released the full birthday book, which includes a page matching the Journal’s description.
A spokesperson for Trump said he will continue to press forward in his lawsuit against the Journal and the other defendants, CBS News reported. The ruling lets the Journal seek attorneys’ fees within 30 days, according to The Source.
Trump is also pursuing a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, in which a judge last week ordered him to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11. Aurax News has a separate report on that case.
This report draws on information from CBS News, The Washington Post and the BBC.