A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, its parent company Dow Jones and owner Rupert Murdoch on Monday, finding that the complaint came “nowhere close” to establishing that journalists acted with actual malice in their reporting.
Trump filed a defamation suit in July 2025 against the Journal over its article detailing his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a lewd birthday card with the president’s signature.
‘“I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his ‘pile of garbage’ newspaper, the WSJ,” Trump wrote. “That will be an interesting experience!!!”
In September, the House Oversight Committee released the birthday book in question, with an alleged Trump signature. Trump has denied signing it.
The judge did not rule as to whether the signature was legitimate or not, but concluded that the Journal’s reporters did not act with reckless disregard for the truth or with actual malice, the standard for defamation cases.
“To establish actual malice, ‘a plaintiff must show the defendant deliberately
avoided investigating the veracity of the statement in order to evade learning the truth,” wrote Darrin P. Gayles, a U.S. District Court judge in Florida. “The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard.”
“Quite the opposite,” he continued. “The Article explains that, before running the story, Defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials, and the FBI for comment. President Trump responded with his denial, the
Justice Department did not respond at all, and the FBI declined to comment. In short, the Complaint and Article confirm that Defendants attempted to investigate.”
“President Trump will follow Judge Gayles’s ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants,” a spokesman for President Trump’s legal team said in a statement. “The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People.”
Since returning to office last year, Trump has also sued the New York Times and BBC.
