Trump's Lawsuit vs Wall Street Journal over Epstein Dismissed as Frivolous
By Reuters | 13 Apr, 2026

Miami US District Judge Darrin Gayles said Trump came "nowhere close" to meeting the "actual malice" standard for public figures suing for defamation but gave Trump leave to amend his complaint for another shot.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A U.S. judge dismissed on Monday Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over an article asserting the U.S. president's name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but said Trump could re-file the case.

Miami-based U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles said Trump did not meet the "actual malice" standard that public figures must clear in defamation. That means they must prove not only that a public statement about them was false but also that the media outlet or person who made the statement knew or should have known that it was false.

"This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard," Gayles wrote. "Quite the opposite."

The judge wrote that the Journal's reporters reached out to Trump for comment beforehand, and printed his denial. That allowed readers to decide for themselves what to conclude, cutting against Trump's assertion that the newspaper acted with actual malice, the judge said.

Gayles said Trump could file an amended version of the lawsuit by April 27.

Neither Trump's lawyers in the case nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.

In his lawsuit, Trump called the alleged birthday greeting "fake" and sought $10 billion for what he called damage to his reputation. News Corp's Dow Jones, the Journal's parent, defended the accuracy of its July 17, 2025, article.

The lawsuit was one of several Trump, a Republican, has filed during his presidency against major media outlets over reporting he has characterized as unfair or false. That has led to concern among Democrats and press freedom advocates that he is seeking to use defamation cases to quell critical coverage.

In asking Gayles to dismiss the case in September, lawyers for the Journal and its billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch wrote that the lawsuit threatened to chill the speech of those who publish content that Trump does not like.

Neither News Corp nor Dow Jones immediately responded to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Daniel Wallis)