President Trump’s Defamation Suit Against Wall Street Journal Dismissed by US Judge

A federal judge dismissed Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, dealing a setback to the US president in his legal campaign against media organisations he accuses of unfair treatment.

The case was one of several Trump, a Republican, has filed during his presidency against major media outlets over reporting he has characterised as unfair or false. This has raised concerns among Democrats and press freedom advocates that he is seeking to use defamation suits to stifle critical coverage.

Trump’s lawsuit alleged that the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper damaged his reputation with an article describing a birthday card sent to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump’s signature. Trump and his lawyers said the card was fake, even after it was released by lawmakers investigating Epstein’s case.

Trump filed the lawsuit in July 2025 as his administration faced criticism from both his conservative base and congressional Democrats over its handling of the case involving Epstein, a financier who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.

Miami-based US District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles, an appointee of former president Barack Obama, said in dismissing the case that Trump had not come close to meeting the “actual malice” standard required in defamation cases involving public figures.

This means claimants must prove not only that a public statement about them was false, but also that the publisher knew, or ought to have known, it was false.

“This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” Gayles wrote. “Quite the opposite.”

Gayles said Trump could file an amended version of the lawsuit by April 27.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he would refile the lawsuit by that date.

A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, said: “We are pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss this complaint. We stand behind the reliability, rigour and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting.”

Gayles noted that the Journal’s reporters had sought comment from Trump in advance and published his denial, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. This, the judge said, weighed against Trump’s claim of actual malice.

The ruling did not address whether the article was true.

The Epstein case has fuelled conspiracy theories alleging a government cover-up of the financier’s ties to powerful figures and obscuring the circumstances of his death, which was officially ruled a suicide.

Trump amplified such theories during the 2024 presidential campaign and pledged to release government investigative files if elected. He later backed away from that promise, instead calling the controversy a Democratic hoax.

Trump and Epstein were once friends, but Trump has said he severed ties before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in 2008. He has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

The lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal followed an article claiming Trump’s signature appeared on a 2003 birthday card for Epstein, which included a drawing of a naked woman and references to shared secrets in an imagined dialogue.

Trump’s complaint repeatedly asserted the card was fake and criticised the newspaper for not publishing it as proof. However, a copy was later released by Democrats in Congress, who said they obtained it from Epstein’s estate.

In seeking dismissal, the Wall Street Journal argued the case was without merit and warned it could have a chilling effect on free speech.

Trump has also filed lawsuits against the BBC, alleging misleading editing of a speech; The New York Times, over articles and a book about him; and a newspaper in Iowa over a poll showing him trailing Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign.

All three outlets have denied wrongdoing.

ABC settled with Trump after he sued over an anchor’s inaccurate remarks about a civil case alleging sexual abuse. CBS reached a similar settlement following a lawsuit over edits to an interview with Harris.

 

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