Judge Dismisses Trump's $10 Billion Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Story
A federal judge on Monday threw out President Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. Trump sued over a story about a birthday greeting he allegedly sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Federal Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed President Trump's massive defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Trump had sued for $10 billion over the newspaper's report about a lewd birthday letter he allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein for the convicted sex offender's 50th birthday.
The judge ruled that Trump failed to prove "actual malice" - a legal standard that requires public figures to show news outlets either knew their story was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Judge Gayles wrote that Trump's claim that the Journal had contradictory evidence was "rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to establish actual malice."
The Wall Street Journal had published details about Trump's alleged birthday greeting to Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump's legal team argued the story was defamatory and damaged his reputation.
The ruling follows a pattern of courts protecting news organizations when they report on public figures, especially politicians. The "actual malice" standard, set by the Supreme Court in 1964, makes it extremely difficult for public officials to win defamation cases.
This shows how hard it is for public figures to win defamation cases against news outlets. The ruling protects press freedom when reporting on powerful people, even when the stories are damaging.
Trump's legal team could appeal the dismissal to a higher court.
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