Federal judge dismisses Trump's amended $10 billion defamation suit against Wall Street Journal, Murdoch

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami on Saturday dismissed with prejudice President Donald Trump's amended $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and other defendants over a story about a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. Gayles ruled that Trump had not plausibly alleged the defendants published the article with actual malice, the legal standard for public figures. He wrote that, as with the first attempt, Trump had failed. Because the dismissal is with prejudice, Trump cannot file another amended complaint in the district court. The ruling came roughly six months after Gayles first dismissed the suit. The story, published in 2025, described a card allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, in a book assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump has denied sending it. A spokesman for Trump's legal team said the president plans to appeal and will keep pursuing the case. A Dow Jones spokesperson said the company was pleased with the decision, and the White House referred questions to counsel.

Right-leaning outlets differ from each other. Just the News leads with the legal standard, citing the Supreme Court's New York Times v. Sullivan decision and describing the ruling as the second rejection of Trump's efforts against the paper this year, and it leaves out the card's contents. The Daily Mail has the most colorful framing: it puts the judge's 'grasping at straws' language and the card's lewd drawing and message in its headline and opening, notes the ruling came days before the midterms, quotes Dow Jones, and calls the dismissal a blow to an administration with adversarial press relations. Left-leaning MS NOW calls the ruling a resounding defeat of Trump's efforts to silence unwelcome coverage. NBC News gives a detailed account of the card, Trump's denial and his lawyer's claim the note was made up, and quotes the judge on dismissal with prejudice. All sides agree on the actual-malice finding and the with-prejudice outcome. CNBC adds Trump's team's appeal plan and statement, and Variety stays brief.