A US federal judge has permanently dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, bringing an end to his legal campaign against the newspaper
over its reporting on his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled on Saturday that Trump had once again failed to establish that the newspaper acted with “actual malice” — the legal standard public figures must meet to prevail in defamation cases.
In his ruling, Gayles rejected Trump’s second attempt to pursue the case, writing: “As with his first attempt, he has failed.”
The judge praised the newspaper’s reporting, describing its investigation as “thoughtful and detailed”. He also pointed to the efforts made by journalists to obtain comments from Trump and other relevant officials before the article was published.
Gayles dismissed arguments presented by Trump’s legal team, which maintained that the newspaper should have abandoned the story after the president denied having any involvement with Epstein.
Such a denial, the judge said, does not satisfy the legal requirements for proving actual malice and would undermine protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The court also criticised Trump’s amended complaint for attempting to identify alleged shortcomings in the newspaper’s investigation without establishing evidence of deliberate wrongdoing.
“Grasping at straws, the Amended Complaint attempts to manufacture flaws with the investigation,” Gayles wrote.
Trump had relaunched the legal action in May, seeking at least $10 billion in damages over the newspaper’s coverage of his connections to Epstein.
The dismissal with prejudice means the president cannot bring the same lawsuit before the court again, effectively ending the case.
The ruling marks a significant legal setback for Trump in his effort to hold the newspaper accountable for its reporting on his past relationship with Epstein. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.
