Judge bars Trump from reviving $10 billion WSJ Epstein suit
Why it matters: The ruling said Trump's team failed to show actual malice, reinforcing press protections under the First Amendment.
A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch over a report on an alleged 2003 birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, ending the case with prejudice. Judge Darrin Gayles ruled Oct. 31 that Trump’s complaint did not show the defendants acted with actual malice, the standard required in libel cases involving public figures. Gayles wrote that Trump’s argument would effectively let a public figure block publication simply by denying an accusation. Trump had first sought $20 billion, then refiled for $10 billion after an earlier dismissal. The Journal’s July 2025 story described a letter bearing Trump’s name in Epstein’s birthday book.