An effort by former President Donald Trump to file a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal has been dismissed. The lawsuit stemmed from allegations made in a story about his links to a birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles, presiding in Miami, determined that Trump did not successfully demonstrate that the defendants made defamatory statements with ‘actual malice.’ The ruling came in a detailed 20-page decision issued on Saturday.
Actual malice in defamation cases involving public figures necessitates proof that statements were published either knowing their falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth. Judge Gayles deemed that Trump’s lawsuit was an attempt to ‘manufacture’ defects in the WSJ’s investigative reporting and labeled it as ‘grasping at straws.’
The dismissal of the case was ‘with prejudice,’ meaning it is a permanent decision preventing refiling of the suit.
‘President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants,’ a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team stated. ‘He will keep holding accountable those who mislead the American people with incorrect information and smears.’
A source close to Trump’s legal strategy indicated that an appeal against the ruling is likely.
The Wall Street Journal’s story at the heart of the lawsuit, published the previous year, discussed a sexually suggestive letter purportedly bearing Trump’s name included in a 2003 album made for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump dismissed the publication’s report as ‘FAKE’ and initiated a $20 billion lawsuit against the newspaper, its parent company News Corp, several executives, and key figures, including Rupert Murdoch.
Following House lawmakers subpoenaing a redacted version of Epstein’s birthday book, which contained the alleged letter, then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, ‘It’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, nor did he sign it.’
In April, Judge Gayles initially dismissed the lawsuit, criticizing Trump’s legal team for failing to meet the necessary legal standards for defamation claims. He remarked that Trump was ‘nowhere close’ to demonstrating that the WSJ acted with ‘actual malice’ against him, essential for defamation suits involving public figures. Trump’s legal team had thereafter refiled the claim.
Contributors to this report included Stefan Becket.
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