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Donald Trump's WSJ Lawsuit Is Dismissed With Prejudice (Part 2) (11/2/26)
Published 2 hours ago
Description
On October 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, and two journalists over the newspaper's reporting about a sexually suggestive birthday letter allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump filed the lawsuit in July 2025 after the newspaper reported that a letter bearing his name appeared in a birthday album assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's 50th birthday. The letter included a drawing of a naked woman, an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, and a reference to their supposed shared secrets. Trump denied creating, signing, or submitting the letter, accusing the newspaper of publishing fabricated information intended to damage his reputation. His attorneys argued that the journalists had failed to properly authenticate the document, ignored inconsistencies involving the signature, and proceeded with publication despite Trump's explicit denials.
However, Judge Gayles rejected those arguments, determining that Trump had failed to establish a plausible claim of actual malice, the legal standard requiring public figures to demonstrate that allegedly defamatory statements were published with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The judge emphasized that journalists are not legally required to abandon a story simply because a powerful public figure denies its accuracy, particularly when the publication includes those denials and provides readers with the opportunity to evaluate the competing accounts. Because Trump had already been given an opportunity to amend his original complaint and had again failed to meet the required legal standard, Gayles dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, preventing Trump from simply filing another amended version of the same claims.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
gov.uscourts.flsd.693830.80.0.pdf
However, Judge Gayles rejected those arguments, determining that Trump had failed to establish a plausible claim of actual malice, the legal standard requiring public figures to demonstrate that allegedly defamatory statements were published with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. The judge emphasized that journalists are not legally required to abandon a story simply because a powerful public figure denies its accuracy, particularly when the publication includes those denials and provides readers with the opportunity to evaluate the competing accounts. Because Trump had already been given an opportunity to amend his original complaint and had again failed to meet the required legal standard, Gayles dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, preventing Trump from simply filing another amended version of the same claims.
to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
gov.uscourts.flsd.693830.80.0.pdf