Judge permanently dismisses Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal

A federal judge has dismissed with prejudice President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over reporting on an Epstein letter.

• US District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the case with prejudice, permanently blocking further litigation.
• Gayles wrote that the amended complaint "falls short of pleading actual malice."
• Gayles rejected Trump's argument that The Journal should have withheld its story after his denial, citing the First Amendment.
• The suit followed The Journal's July 2025 article on a suggestive birthday note to Epstein bearing Trump's name.