Home · Business · Nov 1 archive
Judge Dismisses Trump's $10 Billion Defamation Suit Over Epstein Letter
· Confirmed
In Short: A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
The BBC and The News International reported that U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit, which sought $10 billion in damages, with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. Gayles noted that Trump's legal team did not prove that the defendants made defamatory statements with 'actual malice,' a requirement for public figures to win defamation cases.
According to CBS News and The News International, the lawsuit stemmed from a 2025 Wall Street Journal report about a sexually suggestive letter and drawing that the paper said bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump alleged that the letter was fake and that the defendants devised the story to defame him.
The News International and Editor and Publisher reported that Gayles had previously dismissed the defamation lawsuit, which initially sought $20 billion in damages. This time, Gayles ruled that the suit was 'grasping at straws' and did not meet the legal standard required to proceed.
The lawsuit came as the Trump administration faced intense bipartisan criticism over its handling of Epstein documents. The Wall Street Journal's story about Epstein's birthday book and the alleged letter with Trump's signature was part of this controversy.
The News International and CBS News also reported that Democrats have spent more than $35 million on Epstein-related advertising ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress.
Gayles' ruling, as reported by The News International and Editor and Publisher, found that Trump's legal team failed to clear the high legal bar required for defamation suits brought by public figures. The judge emphasized that the WSJ's reporting was 'thoughtful and detailed' and did not meet the standard of 'actual malice.'
The News International and Editor and Publisher agreed that the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot refile another lawsuit over the same issue or challenge the judge’s decision.
The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate.
The News International and Editor and Publisher agreed that the lawsuit was dismissed because Trump did not prove that the defendants acted with 'actual malice' in publishing their reporting.
The News International and Editor and Publisher concluded that the dismissal of the lawsuit with prejudice means Trump cannot refile another lawsuit over the same issue and cannot challenge the judge’s decision.
Background
A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
What's confirmed
- A man signs a 10-foot-tall protest art installation mocking Trump's alleged letter to Epstein at the National Mall in Washington, DC earlier this year The judge wrote that Trump's legal team did not prove that the defendants made defamatory statements with "actual malice", which the law requires be proven.
- Gayles had already once dismissed the defamation lawsuit, which sought $20 billion in damages.
- The news outlet's story about Epstein's 50th birthday book, external - and the letter with Trump's name - came as the Trump administration battled intense bipartisan criticism over the summer for its handling of Epstein documents.
- Trump's team refiled the suit seeking $10 billion, and this time, the judge threw out the case "with prejudice," meaning the suit cannot be filed again.
- Judge Darrin Gayles threw out the case, finding the suit runs counter to the First Amendment, which protects freedom of the press.
- A federal judge on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch with prejudice, rejecting his amended challenge to the newspaper’s reporting on a purported birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
- U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami said the president was "grasping at straws," ruling that Trump did not prove that the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice, proof of which would be required to prevail.
- The lawsuit against the Journal was over a story it published last year describing a sexually suggestive letter and drawing that the paper said bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday.
- READ MORE: Trump mired in Epstein controversy as Wall Street Journal reports on 2003 letter Trump denied writing it and called the story "false, malicious, and defamatory."
- A federal judge dismissed President Trump’s $10-billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Gayles issued the order granting the outlet’s motion to dismiss with prejudice on Saturday, meaning Trump cannot refile another lawsuit over the same issue and cannot challenge the judge’s decision.
What's still developing
- Trump had sued the media outlet's parent company Dow Jones and its leader Rupert Murdoch last year after it reported on a letter allegedly written by Trump to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as part of a birthday book in 2003, before Epstein was charged with sex crimes.
- A federal judge in Florida dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion libel lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owners Saturday, ruling that he failed to plausibly prove the newspaper knowingly published false information or recklessly disregarded the truth.
- A federal judge has thrown out Donald Trump’s second attempt to sue The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch, and the journalists and publishers who reported on his alleged birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which the president claims does not exist.