Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter

A national justice successful Miami handed President Trump a decision successful his defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal implicit a communicative astir a day publication for Jeffrey Epstein, saying the president's ineligible squad failed to wide the ineligible barroom needed to bring the case.

In a 17-page ruling, Judge Darrin Gayles of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida ruled that the president came "nowhere close" to showing the insubstantial acted with "actual malice" towards him, the modular for bringing a defamation suit arsenic a nationalist figure. 

Actual malice requires that plaintiffs beryllium that statements made astir a nationalist fig were published with the cognition that they were knowingly false, oregon with disregard implicit whether they are existent oregon not.

"Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that Defendants published the Article with existent malice, some Counts indispensable beryllium dismissed," Gayles wrote. 

However, the justice said Mr. Trump tin refile the lawsuit by April 27 to amend the ailment and allege the insubstantial acted with existent malice.

Gayles added that Mr. Trump's "conclusory allegation" successful the ailment — that the Journal "had contradictory grounds and failed to investigate" — is "rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to found existent malice."

CBS News has reached retired to the White House and the president's ineligible squad for remark connected the ruling.

The Journal reported successful 2025 that a publication prepared for Epstein's 50th day successful 2003 included a "bawdy" missive wrong the outline of a nude pistillate with Mr. Trump's signature underneath. The president dismissed the communicative arsenic "FAKE" and sued the insubstantial and respective executives for a full of $20 billion. 

House lawmakers aboriginal obtained a redacted mentation of the day publication from Epstein's estate, which included the missive astatine the halfway of Mr. Trump's lawsuit. White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said astatine the clip that "it's precise wide President Trump did not gully this picture, and helium did not motion it."