U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles has permanently dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice on October 31, 2026. Gayles ruled that Trump failed to prove actual malice regarding the paper's reporting on a sexually suggestive 2003 birthday card allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein. The judge noted that suppressing articles based solely on official denials would violate First Amendment protections, marking another defeat in Trump's broader legal campaign against media organizations.
Trump defamation lawsuit dismissal
- ▪Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Donald Trump failed to plausibly allege that The Wall Street Journal published its report on a 2003 birthday card allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein with actual malice
- ▪U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch with prejudice
- ▪Because Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal with prejudice, Donald Trump cannot amend or refile the suit
Epstein birthday card reporting
- ▪The 2003 birthday card Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, included a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman with Donald Trump's first name signed in the pubic area
- ▪Donald Trump denied sending or drawing the 2003 birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein, calling the card fake and claiming The Wall Street Journal's reporting was false and defamatory
- ▪The Wall Street Journal published a story describing a 2003 birthday book compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday containing a sexually suggestive letter bearing Donald Trump's signature
- ▪The estate of Jeffrey Epstein later released a copy of the 2003 birthday card matching The Wall Street Journal's description, which the House Oversight Committee publicly released
Actual malice legal standard
- ▪Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that whether the voiceover in the 2003 birthday note sent to Jeffrey Epstein was typewritten or written in the third person were inconsequential details that do not establish actual malice
- ▪Judge Darrin Gayles stated that Donald Trump was 'grasping at straws' by alleging The Wall Street Journal failed to properly investigate the Epstein story prior to publication
- ▪Under the Supreme Court precedent set in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, public figures proving defamation must establish actual malice by demonstrating a publisher knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard
First Amendment press protections
- ▪Judge Darrin Gayles stated that requiring news outlets to withhold reporting whenever a public figure denies an allegation would violate the First Amendment and block negative press
- ▪Attorneys for The Wall Street Journal argued that sending a bawdy letter to a friend is not inherently defamatory and noted the newspaper's July 2025 article made clear Donald Trump's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ended years before Epstein was charged
Trump media litigation pattern
- ▪A judge dismissed a $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit filed against The Washington Post by Donald Trump's social media company on July 2, 2026
- ▪Donald Trump has filed multiple multibillion-dollar lawsuits against news media organizations during his second term as president, including complaints against The New York Times and the BBC
Story comments
Loading comments…