Judge Dismisses Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Suit Against Wall Street Journal

A federal judge dismissed Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch.

“In short: A judge has dismissed Donald Trump's $US10 billion ($14 billion) lawsuit against News Corporation's Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch”

ABC

Judge Gayles ruled Trump came nowhere close to showing the WSJ acted with actual malice.

ABC

The ruling was unanimous across multiple outlets, including Axios, BBC, CNBC, and NPR.

Trump announced plans to refile by April 27.

The lawsuit centered on a 2003 birthday letter Trump allegedly sent to Epstein.

The letter featured a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman with Trump's signature mimicking pubic hair.

ABC News

Trump denied writing the letter, calling it a fake thing.

The letter was later released publicly by Congress after being obtained from Epstein's estate.

Trump had called Murdoch personally to try to prevent publication.

Trump's legal team said they would refile the lawsuit.

Dow Jones issued a statement saying they were pleased with the decision.

The judge gave Trump until April 27 to file an amended complaint.

The ruling marks another blow to Trump's efforts to challenge critical media coverage.

Trump had a long-standing friendship with Epstein that ruptured in the mid-2000s.