Judge Dismisses Trumps Defamation Suit Against Murdoch and WSJ

A federal court in Miami has dismissed President Donald Trump's amended defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, ruling on Saturday, October 31, 2026, that Trump failed to establish that the defendants acted with actual malice in their reporting about an alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the case with prejudice, preventing Trump from filing another amended complaint in the district court. However, a spokesman for Trump's legal team confirmed to CNBC that the president intends to appeal.

The dispute centers on a July 17, 2025, Wall Street Journal article describing an alleged letter bearing Trump's signature in an album prepared for Epstein's 50th birthday.

The newspaper reported that the letter contained an illustration of a naked woman and a handwritten signature attributed to Trump. The president has repeatedly denied writing or drawing the disputed material.

In his 20-page ruling, Judge Gayles rejected the amended complaint's arguments concerning the newspaper's reporting process and the authenticity investigation.

"Grasping at straws, the Amended Complaint attempts to manufacture flaws with the investigation," Gayles wrote in his decision.

The judge also characterized the newspaper's reporting process as a "thoughtful and detailed investigation." He rejected Trump's argument that the publication should have withheld the article after receiving denials from the president and his representatives.

Gayles emphasized that the amended lawsuit still failed to establish the legal standard required for a public figure to pursue a defamation claim.

"not plausibly alleged that the Defendants published the Article with actual malice." Gayles wrote in his ruling.

The judge also compared the amended complaint with Trump's earlier legal filing, concluding that the additional allegations did not resolve the central weakness in the case.

"As with his first attempt, he has failed," Gayles wrote.

The ruling follows an earlier dismissal approximately six months ago. Trump had initially sought $10 billion in damages from Murdoch and the newspaper.

The amended complaint introduced additional allegations, including an account of a telephone conversation in which Murdoch allegedly addressed the planned publication of the birthday-letter story.

According to details previously reported by Newsweek, the complaint claimed Murdoch told Trump "I will handle it" during their conversation about the article.

Gayles also rejected Trump's contention that the newspaper's decision to publish the story despite his denial violated applicable legal standards. He explained that accepting such an argument could undermine constitutional protections for journalism.

The judge said allowing public figures to prevent unfavorable reporting simply by denying allegations would conflict with press freedom and the First Amendment.

"runs afoul of the First Amendment" was the judge's description of the argument that a public figure's denial should prevent publication.

Trump's legal team maintained that the president would continue pursuing the case despite the dismissal. A spokesman issued a statement to CNBC outlining the administration's position.

"President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants. The President will continue to hold those who mislead the American People with Fake News and smears accountable for their actions," the spokesman said.

Representatives for Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal had not immediately responded to requests for comment when the ruling was reported.

The original newspaper article, published on July 17, 2025, described the disputed letter as part of a collection assembled for Epstein's 50th birthday. The Journal identified Ghislaine Maxwell as the person who allegedly requested that Trump contribute the letter.

Maxwell was subsequently convicted of procuring underage girls for sexual abuse by Epstein. The newspaper's account described the letter's illustration and signature in considerable detail.

Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo described the document's appearance in their original report.

"contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker." the reporters wrote.

The article further described the illustration and the placement of the signature attributed to Trump.

"A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking pubic hair," Safdar and Palazzolo wrote.

The reporters also reproduced the closing words attributed to the disputed birthday message.

"Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," the article stated.

Trump strongly rejected the newspaper's account when the story first appeared, disputing both the authorship and the illustration attributed to him.

"This is not me. This is a fake thing." Trump said in response to the publication.

The president also denied having any history of producing drawings of women.

"I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women," Trump said at the time.

The dismissal represents another legal setback in Trump's disputes with media organizations. Separately, a federal judge ordered Trump on October 22 to appear for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC.