Judge Dismisses Trump’s $10bn Lawsuit Against WSJ Over Epstein Reporting

A U.S. federal judge has thrown out President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamationlawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, ruling that the president failed to meet the high legal standard required for public figures to prove defamation.

U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles, sitting in Miami, dismissed the case without prejudice on Monday. This means Trump’s legal team can file an amended complaint by 27 April if they choose to refile.

The lawsuit, filed last summer, accused The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Murdoch and two of its reporters of publishing a false and malicious story about Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The article referenced a “bawdy” birthday greeting letter bearing Trump’s signature that was included in a 2002/2003 album presented to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump’s lawyers claimed the reporting caused him massive reputational and financial harm.

In his ruling, Judge Gayles stated that Trump had not “plausibly alleged” that the newspaper published the story with actual malice, the legal threshold public figures must prove, meaning the media either knew the information was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

“Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that Defendants published the Article with actual malice, both Counts must be dismissed,” Gayles wrote.

The Wall Street Journal welcomed the decision.

This is the latest in a series of high-profile legal battles Trump has launched against major media organisations over their coverage of his past associations.

The original The Wall Street Journal story was published in July 2025, shortly after Epstein-related documents were released by Congress.

Trump’s team has not yet commented publicly on whether they will amend and refile the suit.