Trump's Suit Against WSJ Dismissed Again; Judge Calls It "A Futile Attempt"

U.S. President Donald Trump sued The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for damages over its reporting on the “Epstein letter,” but a federal court has dismissed the case again.

According to the Associated Press and other outlets on October 31 local time, Judge Darrin Gayles of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami ruled entirely in favor of the defendants, including WSJ, in the $10 billion (KRW 13.3 trillion) damages lawsuit Trump filed against the newspaper. A similar lawsuit Trump brought against WSJ was also dismissed in April.

In its ruling, the court said Trump had failed to prove “actual malice,” the reason for dismissing the case. Actual malice is a standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case. It applies when public officials or public figures sue over defamation in a publication. Under this standard, plaintiffs must prove that a media outlet published a report knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was true.

The judge said Trump had tried to invent flaws in WSJ’s investigative reporting, describing his effort as “a futile attempt to find something that isn’t there.” The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot file another lawsuit over the same matter. However, because this is a ruling by a trial court, he may appeal.

Last year, WSJ reported that a letter bearing Trump’s name was included in an album made by friends to celebrate sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday. The album was created in 2003, when Trump was a businessman. Trump sued, saying he had not written the letter and calling WSJ’s reporting “false, malicious and defamatory.”

In April this year, Judge Gayles had also dismissed a similar lawsuit Trump filed against WSJ and others, citing insufficient evidence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.