Judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday book
Also reported by PBS NewsHour, CBS News
Summary
A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent company Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch. The judge said Trump’s legal team did not show that the defendants acted with actual malice, a requirement for a public figure’s defamation claim.Key Facts
- Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot file it again.
- The lawsuit challenged the Journal’s report about a letter bearing Trump’s name in a 2003 birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein.
- Trump has denied writing or signing the letter, which reportedly included suggestive text and a drawing of a woman’s body.
- Trump’s legal team argued the Journal should not have published its report after Trump denied writing the letter.
- Gayles said that argument conflicted with the First Amendment and the legal standard for actual malice.
- The judge described the Journal’s investigation as thoughtful and detailed.
- The case was refiled for $10 billion after Gayles had previously dismissed an earlier version seeking $20 billion.
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