A federal judge has dismissed with prejudice a defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal regarding a 2023 report that linked him to a lewd birthday greeting allegedly sent to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles issued a 20-page ruling on Saturday, definitively ending the litigation. By dismissing the suit “with prejudice,” the court has barred Trump from refiling the complaint, marking a final defeat for the former president on this matter. This is the second time Judge Gayles has rejected the lawsuit; he initially tossed the case in April but provided Trump with an opportunity to file an amended complaint. In his latest order, Gayles concluded that Trump failed to prove “actual malice,” a rigorous legal standard required for public figures to succeed in defamation claims.
The lawsuit, originally filed in Miami federal court last July, named as defendants Dow Jones—the publisher of The Wall Street Journal—parent company News Corp, owner Rupert Murdoch, CEO Robert Thomson, and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo.
The underlying controversy stems from a Wall Street Journal investigation detailing a commemorative album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. The report alleged that Trump contributed a message that included a bawdy, hand-drawn illustration. According to the publication, the letter featured typewritten text framed by a marker drawing of a naked woman, with the name “Donald” signed below the waist in a manner intended to mimic pubic hair. The report also contained an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein.
Trump has vehemently denied the allegations, characterizing the birthday note as “fake” and attacking the newspaper as a “disgusting and filthy rag.” Following the initial publication of the report, Trump allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr., publicly defended him, claiming they had never witnessed him engage in such behavior.
The lawsuit’s dismissal arrives against the backdrop of ongoing public fascination with the associations of Jeffrey Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in the trafficking operation.
While Trump has frequently sought to distance himself from the late financier, he has previously faced backlash from some of his own supporters for his administration’s handling of Epstein-related records. During his time in office, the Department of Justice released files pertaining to the case that were heavily redacted, asserting that Epstein had operated as a lone wolf rather than a trafficker for a broader network of high-profile associates—a conclusion that remains a point of contention among critics.
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