Judge signals Trump's defamation lawsuit against Wall Street Journal may be dismissed again

A federal judge in Florida appeared doubtful Wednesday about arguments from Donald Trump's legal team seeking to keep alive a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal. Trump sued the newspaper and News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch over a July 2025 article about a "bawdy" letter allegedly from Trump that appeared in a 2003 birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has denied writing or signing the letter, and his attorneys claim the Journal published the story despite being told it was false.

US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles initially dismissed the case in April, ruling that Trump's lawyers had not adequately pleaded actual malice — the legal bar for defamation — but allowed them to refile. The president's team filed an amended complaint in May.

During a Miami courtroom hearing, Trump attorney Alejandro Brito, who also handles the president's separate $10bn defamation suit against the BBC, argued that the Journal "didn't follow journalistic standards sufficient to making the claims." He said only four people could verify the letter's authenticity: Trump, who denies it; Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019; the bookbinder, also deceased; and Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein associate who says she doesn't recall who took part in the birthday book project.

Judge Gayles appeared particularly doubtful that Trump suffered financial harm, calling the lawyer's assertions "rather conclusory." Brito responded that Trump's team did not need to detail financial damages at this stage.

Lawyers for Murdoch, the Journal, and parent company News Corp argued that the amended complaint fails to improve on the original. "It is time for this baseless lawsuit to come to an end," said Andrew J. Levander, an attorney for the defendants. Katherine M. Bolger, another defense lawyer, contended that the Journal's inclusion of Trump's denials demonstrated good journalism, not actual malice.

Gayles did not rule from the bench but said a decision is imminent. He also granted a stay on discovery.