Judge dismisses Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter
A US judge has dismissed Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal with prejudice, ending his legal challenge over the newspaper's reporting on his alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
The decision comes after an earlier dismissal in April that had allowed Trump to revise his complaint. As of Saturday, the case is dismissed with prejudice, meaning the lawsuit cannot be amended or refiled.
Legal reasoning
Throughout the proceedings, the court repeatedly pointed to the newspaper's efforts to obtain Trump's response before publication and its inclusion of his direct denials as evidence that it had followed appropriate reporting standards.
Judge Darrin P Gayles issued the final dismissal after determining that Trump's amended complaint still failed to establish 'actual malice', the high legal threshold public figures must meet when pursuing defamation claims.
Background and reactions
The case stemmed from a Wall Street Journal article alleging that Trump had sent a 'bawdy' letter to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump denied the letter was real, insisting instead it had been fabricated.
The lawsuit attracted particular attention because it named Rupert Murdoch, one of Trump's most prominent media allies, among the defendants. Murdoch's News Corporation media empire owns the Journal.
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team shared a statement following the ruling: 'President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants. The President will continue to hold those who mislead the American People with Fake News and smears accountable for their actions.'
A Dow Jones spokesperson said: 'We're pleased with the court's decision.'
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