A federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal for a second time, ruling that the case over the paper’s reporting on a purported Jeffrey Epstein “birthday book” letter falls short of proving actual malice.
Donald Trump (Credits: Getty Images via Variety)
Trump WSJ Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed With Prejudice
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles issued his opinion on Saturday, finding that Trump’s lawsuit “falls short of pleading actual malice.” He described the allegations regarding malice as “conclusory, vague, sometimes inconsistent with the Article, and often irrelevant to whether Defendants knew or should have known that the statements in the Article were purportedly false.”
The suit stemmed from a 2025 Wall Street Journal report that a 2003 birthday letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was purportedly written by Trump. Crucially, the dismissal was with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot refile the claim — a decisive end to this round of the legal fight.
Second Dismissal of the Epstein Letter Case
This marks the second time the defamation claims have been thrown out. Trump has a long history of suing news organizations, and the Epstein-related reporting has been among the most closely watched media lawsuits of his presidency.
For the Journal, the ruling is a significant win for press freedom at a time when libel litigation against media outlets has become a political flashpoint.
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Source: Variety — read the full story there.
