A federal judge in Florida on Monday dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about a bawdy 50th birthday card he is alleged to have sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles tossed the case after he found Trump’s suit “comes nowhere close” to reaching the standard of actual malice — a showing "the false statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
“Quite the opposite. The Article explains that, before running the story, Defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials, and the FBI for comment," Gayles wrote. "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. The Article also states that the WSJ reviewed the Letter.”
“Accordingly, President Trump’s conclusory allegation that Defendants had contradictory evidence and failed to investigate is rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to establish actual malice.”
Trump sued in July, shortly after the Journal published a story saying a birthday book that had been assembled for Epstein's birthday in 2003 appeared to include a bizarre card from Trump, who had been friends with Epstein around the time.
The card featured a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman with what appears to be Trump’s first name signed in the pubic area, as well as a typewritten note depicting an imaginary conversation with Epstein, who would later be charged with sex trafficking.
Trump denied having anything to do with the card, and his attorney accused the paper in his suit of having made it up.
Epstein's estate later released a copy of a card matching the Journal’s description. Trump and the White House maintain the card is a fake.
Gayle's ruling did not get into whether Trump wrote the card or not.
Because Trump came “nowhere close” to the standard of actual malice, Gayle declined to make factual determinations about whether the story was true, writing that “whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation.”
Gayles, a Barack Obama appointee, dismissed the case "without prejudice," meaning Trump can take another shot at pleading his case. He cited legal precedent as the reason for giving Trump another opportunity and gave him two weeks to file an amended complaint.
A spokesman for Trump's legal team said in a statement: "President Trump will follow the judge's ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants. The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People."
A spokesperson for the Journal's publisher, Dow Jones and Co., said of the ruling in a statement, “We are pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss this complaint. We stand behind the reliability, rigor and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting.”
Trump socialized with Epstein for over a decade before the two had a falling-out in the early 2000s. Trump has said it was because he believed that Epstein was a "creep" and that he had taken employees, including young women, from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
In addition, in questioning before the House Oversight Committee this year, former President Bill Clinton said that he'd had a discussion with Trump about Epstein “20-something years ago” and that Trump told him of Epstein, "We had some great times together over the years, but we fell out all because of a real estate deal.”
Epstein, a politically connected financier, pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008 and died in jail in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The FBI and the Justice Department have said he preyed on over 1,000 women and girls.
Trump has not been charged with any wrongdoing connected to Epstein, and he has denied any wrongdoing.
