A federal judge has dismissed former US President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch. Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump did not meet the “actual malice” standard required for public figures, which requires proving a statement was false and that the publisher knew or should have known it was false.
Gayles said the complaint fell far short of that threshold and noted that Journal reporters contacted Trump for comment and published his denial, allowing readers to weigh the disagreement. The judge’s ruling did not decide whether the Journal’s underlying allegations were true.
Trump filed the suit in July 2025 over a Journal story about a birthday book compiled for the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The article reported that a card bearing sexually suggestive text and a marker sketch of a female figure included Trump’s signature; Trump and his lawyers contend the card is fake.
Following the ruling, Trump said he would file an amended complaint by the court-ordered April 27 deadline.
Questions about Trump’s ties to Epstein resurfaced in the news after Melania Trump held a press conference denying any connections; Epstein was awaiting trial on sex‑trafficking charges at the time of his death.
During his presidency, Trump filed several defamation suits against major news organizations, prompting concern from press-freedom advocates who say such litigation can be used to suppress critical reporting. Most recently, he sued the BBC in November 2025 over allegedly misleading editing of a speech. He has also sued the New York Times and an Iowa newspaper; those outlets have denied wrongdoing.
Edited by Dmytro Hubenko