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A federal judge on Monday dismissed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, ruling that the president failed to adequately demonstrate the publication acted with malicious intent.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump’s complaint did not sufficiently argue that the article at the center of the case was published with actual malice — a key legal standard in defamation cases involving public figures. However, Gayles allowed Trump the opportunity to amend and refile the lawsuit.
In a social media post hours after the ruling, Trump said the decision “is not a termination” but a “suggested re-filing” of what he called a “powerful case,” adding that a revised complaint would be submitted by April 27.
The lawsuit, filed in July, stemmed from a report by the Journal that renewed scrutiny on Trump’s past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The article described a sexually suggestive letter the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
Trump denied authoring the letter, calling the report “false, malicious, and defamatory.” The letter was later released publicly by Congress after lawmakers subpoenaed materials from Epstein’s estate.
Attorneys for the Journal and Murdoch had urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the reporting was accurate and therefore not defamatory. In his ruling, Gayles wrote that questions such as whether Trump authored the letter or the nature of his relationship with Epstein are factual disputes that cannot be resolved at this stage of litigation.
The decision marks a setback in Trump’s broader legal strategy to challenge media coverage he has criticized as unfair or inaccurate. The case also comes amid ongoing scrutiny surrounding the release of Epstein-related documents and renewed public attention on individuals connected to the disgraced financier.
A spokesperson for Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the Journal, said the organization was “pleased” with the ruling and stood by the “reliability, rigor and accuracy” of its reporting.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump now faces a deadline later this month to refile the complaint if he chooses to continue pursuing the case, setting up a potential next phase in the legal battle between the president and one of the nation’s leading newspapers.
