Judge dismisses Trump’s defamation suit against Wall Street Journal

A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice on October 31, ruling that Trump had not adequately shown the newspaper acted with actual malice when it published a report about a birthday message bearing his name to Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles, of the Southern District of Florida, said Trump’s revised complaint did not establish that the newspaper knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. That standard applies to public figures bringing defamation claims. Gayles rejected Trump’s argument that the newspaper should have withheld its report after he denied writing the message. The judge said that requiring a publication to abandon its reporting whenever a public figure denies an allegation would conflict with the actual-malice standard and the First Amendment. The lawsuit followed a 2025 Journal report about a sexually suggestive birthday greeting reportedly included in an album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. Trump denied writing the message and called the report false. The underlying dispute over who wrote the greeting was not...