US judge dismisses $10bn Trump defamation suit against Wall Street Journal

US Judge Dismisses Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Case Against Wall Street Journal

Legal Ruling Marks End of High-Profile Lawsuit

A federal judge in Florida has ruled to dismiss Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its parent company, News Corp., which is owned by Rupert Murdoch. The case, which sought damages exceeding $10 billion, centered on a 2003 report linking the former president to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein through a “birthday book” mentioned in the story.

The WSJ published the report in July 2022, detailing how Trump’s name appeared in a list provided by Epstein. The article also included a drawing of a woman’s body, which Trump claimed was part of a fabricated narrative. Despite the dismissal, the judge left the door open for Trump to refile the case with revised claims within a 27 April deadline.

“The president will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People,” stated Trump’s legal team, emphasizing their intent to pursue the lawsuit again.

US District Judge Darrin Gayles determined that Trump failed to demonstrate the WSJ acted with “actual malice” in publishing the story. This legal standard requires proving a public statement was false and that the publisher knew or should have known about its falsity. The judge noted Trump’s allegations lacked sufficient plausibility to meet this threshold.

The WSJ’s exclusive reporting followed the release of a social media image by Democratic lawmakers of the birthday note. Though the newspaper did not initially publish the note’s image, its written description aligned with the lawmakers’ visual evidence. Trump called the document “a fake thing” and asserted he did not author the drawing.