The US federal judge has dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its parent company, Dow Jones, over a report linking him to a controversial letter included in a 2003 birthday album for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, ruling that the case lacked sufficient evidence of actual malice and was protected by the First Amendment.
Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, preventing Trump from filing it again, after finding that his legal team had failed to establish that the newspaper knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
The case stemmed from a Wall Street Journal investigation into a birthday book prepared for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, which reportedly contained a letter bearing Trump’s name and signature. The letter featured several lines of typewritten text framed by an outline of a naked woman, alongside suggestive language and a reference to shared secrets.
Trump has repeatedly denied writing or signing the letter, accusing the newspaper, Dow Jones and media mogul Rupert Murdoch of defaming him through the publication of the report. He initially sought $20 billion in damages before refiling the lawsuit with a $10 billion claim after an earlier dismissal.
However, Gayles rejected the central arguments presented by Trump’s legal team, describing the lawsuit as an attempt to manufacture flaws in what he characterized as a “thoughtful and detailed investigation” by the newspaper.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the Journal should not have published the report after he denied writing the letter when approached by its journalists. The judge dismissed that position, emphasizing that a public figure’s denial does not, by itself, establish that a publication acted with actual malice.
“But that is not what the actual malice standard requires and runs afoul of the First Amendment,” Gayles wrote in his 20-page ruling.
He further warned that accepting Trump’s argument would effectively allow public figures to prevent unfavorable reporting simply by denying allegations, undermining constitutional protections for press freedom.
The dismissal comes amid continuing political controversy over the Trump administration’s handling of records related to Epstein, whose connections to influential figures have remained a source of public scrutiny and bipartisan criticism.
The Wall Street Journal’s original report described the letter as containing the phrase “enigmas never age” and ending with the words: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret”.