A federal judge in Florida has tossed out President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
The high-stakes legal battle, which centered on a report regarding the president’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, hit a major snag Monday when the court ruled the case didn’t meet the high bar required for a defamation claim.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles issued the order, stating that Trump’s legal team failed to prove the article was published with “actual malice.”
In the world of media law, that’s a tough standard to beat—it basically means a plaintiff has to show a news outlet knew what they were writing was false or just didn’t care about the truth. While the judge dismissed the current suit, he did leave a door open, giving the president’s lawyers a chance to file an amended version of the complaint.
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This whole saga started back in July. Trump pulled the trigger on the lawsuit following a report about a sexually suggestive letter allegedly signed by him.
The Journal reported the letter was part of a 2003 birthday album put together for Epstein’s 50th birthday. While the White House has bristled at the coverage, the letter itself eventually became a matter of public record after Congress subpoenaed files from the Epstein estate and released them.
For the Trump administration, this ruling is a significant setback. It comes at a time when the White House is juggling the fallout from the release of various “Epstein files” while simultaneously trying to challenge critical reporting in court.
Critics have long argued these types of lawsuits are an attempt to chill investigative journalism, though the president has maintained he is simply defending his reputation against unfair coverage.
For now, the $10 billion demand is off the table, though the ball is back in the president’s court to see if his legal team can find a way to keep the case alive.
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