Judge Darin Gayles dismisses Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal
Gayles found the suit conflicted with the First Amendment and described it as “grasping at straws” in a 20‑page ruling.
A U.S. federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, saying the case “grasping at straws” and conflicted with the First Amendment.
Trump filed the suit last year against the Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones, and its owner Rupert Murdoch after the paper published a letter allegedly written by Trump to financier Jeffrey Epstein that appeared in a 2003 birthday book, before Epstein faced criminal charges. Trump has denied writing or signing the letter, which the paper said included suggestive language and a drawing of a female body outline.
Judge cites paper’s reporting
Judge Darin Gayles issued a 20‑page opinion that praised the outlet’s “careful and detailed investigation” and said the complaint was intended to “grasping at straws” to “to create shortcomings” in the Journal’s reporting.
The judge had previously tossed an earlier defamation complaint that sought $20 billion in damages. Trump’s team refiled a pared‑down complaint seeking $10 billion; Gayles dismissed the new case “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.
The Journal’s story about Epstein’s 50th‑birthday book and the letter naming Trump came at a time this summer when the Trump administration faced intense bipartisan criticism over how it handled documents connected to Epstein.
Trump has maintained that the newspaper defamed him and violated defamation laws by publishing the piece. The dismissal removes the latest high‑stakes legal effort by the former president to challenge reporting he says damaged his reputation.
Photo: press material from the event
