“As President Trump has not plausibly alleged that each Defendant made defamatory statements with actual malice, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed,” U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles wrote. “And because this is President Trump’s second attempt to allege his claims, the Court finds that dismissal with prejudice is appropriate.”
A federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.
According to The Guardian, Miami-based U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed Trump’s lawsuit with prejudice, meaning that it cannot be filed again. In his ruling, Gayles said that the president failed to establish that the Journal had acted with “actual malice” when reporting on Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit was originally filed over a Journal story that described a sexually suggestive letter that included Trump’s name. The letter, adorned by the sketched image of a nude woman, was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
“Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter reads.
Trump later called the letter, and the story, “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
In court filings, the president’s legal team accused the Wall Street Journal of “knowingly and recklessly” publishing “numerous false, defamatory, and disparaging statement,” resulting in “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” to Trump.
But, on Saturday, a federal court found that Trump failed to establish that the Wall Street Journal had published the letter with “actual malice.”
“As President Trump has not plausibly alleged that each Defendant made defamatory statements with actual malice, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed,” Gayles wrote. “And because this is President Trump’s second attempt to allege his claims, the Court finds that dismissal with prejudice is appropriate.”
A spokesperson for the president indicated that the ruling may be appealed.
“President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants,” the spokesperson said. “The President will continue to hold those who mislead the American people with Fake News and smears accountable for their actions.”
The Guardian notes that the lawsuit attracted widespread attention because, aside from the Wall Street Journal, it also named the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, as a co-defendant. Murdoch, the founder and original owner of Fox News, has long been among Trump’s closest allies in right-wing media. Before the Journal published the contents of the letter, Trump repeatedly asked Murdoch to intervene and prevent the story from hitting the press.
Despite the president’s pleas, the article was eventually published under the title “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”
The Journal never published a picture of the letter, but images were later released by a House committee; the original was provided by the Epstein estate.
Sources
‘Grasping at straws’: Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter
Judge dismisses Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter
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