Federal Judge Dismisses Trump's $10 Billion Suit Against The Wall Street Journal
Seven Lights
A federal judge in Miami threw out President Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media proprietor Rupert Murdoch on Saturday, saying the president was “grasping at straws.”
US District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the suit with prejudice, a ruling that bars it from being refiled. Gayles found that Trump had not proved the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice, the standard public figures must meet. The ruling said the lawsuit had attempted to “manufacture” flaws in the Journal’s investigative reporting.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Miami, accused the paper and its reporters of having “knowingly and recklessly” published “numerous false, defamatory and disparaging statements” that caused “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” to the president.
The case arose from an article the Journal published on July 17, 2025. The paper reported that a sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump’s name was included in a 2003 album compiled for the fiftieth birthday of the financier Jeffrey Epstein. The letter was reportedly collected by Ghislaine Maxwell, the disgraced British socialite. The text is framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and closes with the words, “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump denied writing the letter and called the reporting “false, malicious and defamatory.” Lawyers for the Journal and Murdoch moved for dismissal in September, arguing the claims had no merit. Gayles agreed.
A spokesperson for News Corp’s Dow Jones, the Journal’s parent company, said the firm was pleased with the decision. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said the president would appeal. “The president will continue to hold those who mislead the American people with fake news and smears accountable for their actions,” the spokesman said.
The dismissal is a blow to the president and his administration, which have pursued adversarial relationships with news organisations during his second term. Trump remains in litigation with the BBC and the Associated Press. CNN, MS NOW and Politico are suing him for restored access after he barred them from the White House in mid-September.
Trump’s legal team said an appeal would follow. The Journal and Dow Jones have defended the accuracy of the article.