Judge dismisses Trump's $10B defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over Epstein story
President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story on his ties to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was dismissed by a federal judge on Monday.
Trump filed the lawsuit last year after the Wall Street Journal published a July article claiming Trump signed a sexually suggestive letter that was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Florida wrote in the order that Trump had failed to make the argument that the article was published with the intent to be malicious, but he gave the president a chance to file an amended complaint.
Trump will refile the suit, according to his legal team.
"President Trump will follow Judge Gayles' ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants. The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in fake news to mislead the American people," a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing, calling The Wall Street Journal report on it "false, malicious, and defamatory." The letter bearing Trump’s name and what was reported to be his signature includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a curvaceous woman.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Trump "did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."
Judge Gayles wrote that "whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation."
A spokesperson for Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has been on a rampage against the media in the courts in recent years, filing lawsuits against a variety of outlets, including ABC, CBS, The New York Times and the BBC.
ABC agreed to pay $15 million in 2024 as a charitable contribution to a future presidential museum or foundation to settle Trump's defamation lawsuit. The suit was prompted by anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly saying on the air Trump had previously been held liable for rape, rather than sexual abuse. It also paid $1 million in legal fees.
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Trump also launched an "election interference" lawsuit against CBS over its "60 Minutes" interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, saying its editing decisions amounted to deceiving the public. Ahead of a planned $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, CBS parent company Paramount settled the lawsuit in July to a total that could be upwards of $30 million.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
