A U.S. federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, marking a setback in his ongoing legal battles with major media organisations he accuses of publishing misleading coverage.
The case centred on a report alleging that Trump’s signature appeared in a 2003 birthday message to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a sketch and a reference to shared secrets.
Trump has repeatedly denied writing the note and insists it is fabricated.
However, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles ruled that the complaint failed to meet the high legal threshold required for defamation claims involving public figures.
In his decision, the judge said Trump had not come “nowhere close” to demonstrating “actual malice” - a standard requiring proof that a publication knowingly reported false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
“This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” the judge wrote, adding that the article did not plausibly show the newspaper acted with malicious intent.
He also noted that the Journal had sought comment from Trump before publication and included his denial, allowing readers to judge the claims for themselves.
The ruling does not determine whether the article was true or false, but instead focuses on whether it met the legal threshold for defamation.
Trump filed the lawsuit in mid-2025, seeking billions in damages, amid heightened political tensions over reporting on his past ties to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019.
The Epstein case has long fuelled conspiracy theories and political controversy in the U.S. Trump, who once had social ties with Epstein, has said he cut contact years before Epstein’s criminal conviction and has denied any knowledge of his crimes.
Following the ruling, Trump’s legal team said it plans to refile the case with amendments, after the judge allowed a revised complaint to be submitted by 27 April.
News Corp, which owns the Wall Street Journal, argued the lawsuit had no legal merit and warned it risked chilling press freedom by discouraging critical reporting about public figures.
The case is one of several Trump has brought against media outlets, including the BBC and The New York Times, as part of what critics say is a broader effort to challenge unfavourable coverage.
Some cases have been settled, while others remain ongoing or have been withdrawn.
For now, the dismissal marks a legal setback for Trump, though not necessarily the end of the dispute.
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