Judge tosses Trump’s defamation suit against WSJ over Epstein birthday letter—says malicious intent not proven

Judge Darrin Phillip Gayles from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled on Monday that the lawsuit "fails to adequately allege actual malice," which is a legal standard to prove defamation against a public figure. “The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard. Quite the opposite,” the judge added.

The lawsuit from Trump was seeking to obtain $20 billion in damages against the WSJ and its parent companies, Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp. The lawsuit also named the reporters on the story as well as Rupert Murdoch as defendants. The judge added that the lawsuit was "devoid of any allegations regarding special damages” and added that the lawsuit was dismissed.

Trump had launched the lawsuit last July after the WSJ published a 2003 letter allegedly sent to the disgraced financier's 50th birthday. The letter purportedly had several lines that “framed by the outline of a naked woman” and ended with, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump had previously said that the letter was a fake before the WSJ ran with the report. The judge's ruling does not take issue with if the president actually wrote the letter himself.

“Because the Court finds that the Complaint fails to adequately allege actual malice, it declines to address these issues at this juncture,” Gayles wrote. “Moreover, whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation.”

A spokesman from Trump's legal team said in response to the ruling, “President Trump will follow Judge Gayles’s ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants. The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People.”

Judge Ruling Trump vs WSJ

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