A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, finding the president failed to show the outlet demonstrated “actual malice” when it published a letter Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida last year, after WSJ published a story that included a crude birthday card Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein. The letter was part of a collection of similar birthday notes written by friends of the late disgraced financier and sex trafficker for his 50th birthday in 2003. Trump has denied the authenticity of the letter, while the outlet has stood by its reporting.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, declined to address whether the article at the center of the lawsuit is factual and true, but instead dismissed the lawsuit on Monday because the president failed to show the outlet made the claims about him with “actual malice.”
“To establish actual malice, ‘a plaintiff must show the defendant deliberately avoided investigating the veracity of the statement in order to evade learning the truth,’” Gayles wrote in his ruling. “The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard. Quite the opposite.”
“The Article explains that, before running the story, Defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials, and the FBI for comment,” Gayles added. “President Trump responded with his denial, the Justice Department did not respond at all, and the FBI declined to comment.”
“In short, the Complaint and Article confirm that Defendants attempted to investigate. The Article also states that the WSJ reviewed the Letter,” Gayles continued. “Accordingly, President Trump’s conclusory allegation that Defendants had contradictory evidence and failed to investigate is rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to establish actual malice.”
Gayles dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning Trump is allowed to refile the lawsuit with a proper malice claim included.
“Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that Defendants published the Article with actual malice, both Counts must be dismissed,” Gayles said.
WALL STREET JOURNAL CALLS TRUMP LAWSUIT ‘AFFRONT’ TO FREE SPEECH IN DISMISSAL REQUEST
Trump had filed the lawsuit seeking $10 billion in damages, while the Wall Street Journal called the lawsuit an “affront” to free speech in its filings to the court and requested the judge dismiss it.
The Trump administration has been under intense scrutiny over the past year for its handling of the release of files related to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, and subsequent investigations into him. While the DOJ has released troves of files regarding Epstein, activists and opponents of the administration have accused it of withholding additional files about Epstein.