U.S. judge dismisses Trump lawsuit against Wall Steet Journal over Epstein letter
Newspaper published a story about the president's alleged 2003 letter to the convicted sex offender
A U.S. judge has dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and media magnate Rupert Murdoch. According to the New Straits Times and Al Jazeera, Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the case with prejudice, ruling that Trump failed to establish that the defendants acted with actual malice.
The lawsuit concerned a July 2025 report by the Wall Street Journal regarding an alleged 2003 birthday letter Trump sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The New Straits Times reports the letter purportedly featured a drawing of a naked woman and included a short dialogue between Trump and Epstein.
This ruling follows an initial version of the suit that was turned down by Gayles in April, according to the New Straits Times. Variety notes that the federal judge determined the claims fell short of pleading actual malice.
Brief written by urgent.news from Toronto Sun, New Straits Times, Variety, BBC News, Al Jazeera — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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