Judge ends Trump suit against Wall Street Journal

A federal judge in Miami has permanently closed Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled on Saturday that the case should be dismissed with prejudice, a decision that prevents the president from refiling the specific claims against the media company and its owner.

The legal battle centered on a story published by the Journal in 2025. The article described a sexually suggestive letter and drawing attributed to Trump. The paper stated the items were part of a birthday album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 for his 50th birthday. The letter included text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman and ended with the phrase, "Happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump denied authorship of the letter. He characterized the reporting as false, malicious, and defamatory. The original lawsuit alleged that the Journal and its reporters knowingly and recklessly published false statements. The complaint claimed these actions caused overwhelming financial and reputational harm to the president.

Judge Gayles determined that the plaintiffs failed to meet the legal standard for actual malice. Citing the 1964 Supreme Court decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the judge noted that public figures must prove a media outlet knowingly published falsehoods or showed reckless disregard for the truth. The ruling described the allegations regarding malice as conclusory and vague.

The judge also found that the Journal did not ignore Trump's denial of the letter's authenticity. The ruling stated that the article informed readers that the president decried the letter as a fake. Gayles described the lawsuit as an attempt to manufacture flaws in the investigative reporting. He called the effort grasping at straws.

This is the second time the suit has been rejected. Gayles first dismissed the case in April 2026 but allowed an amended complaint. Trump's team filed the amended version in May 2026. The new ruling rejects those updated arguments as well. The dismissal resolves the dispute between the White House and the media mogul's organization.

The outcome arrives amid a tense relationship between the administration and news organizations. The White House has engaged in legal conflicts with multiple outlets, including the BBC, The Associated Press, and CNN. In mid-September, Trump banished several networks from the White House. Those outlets have since sued to restore their access.

The White House did not provide an immediate public reaction to the Saturday ruling. It also did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The letter in question was reportedly collected by Ghislaine Maxwell for the birthday album.