By Sohaib Shams
A federal judge in Florida has dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday card he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Trump’s amended complaint failed to meet the high legal standard of proving the newspaper acted with “actual malice,” and dismissed the case with prejudice, barring refiling.
The lawsuit stemmed from a July 2025 Journal article describing a birthday book assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The book appeared to include a card from Trump featuring a hand-drawn nude woman with “Donald” signed near the pubic area.
Trump denied any connection to the card, calling it a fabrication. The Epstein estate later released a copy matching the Journal’s description, and the House Oversight Committee also made the card public.
Trump’s attorneys argued the Journal invented the story and failed to investigate, while the paper’s lawyers contended the article was substantially true, not inherently defamatory, and that the Journal had investigated and included Trump’s denial.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, acknowledged assembling the book but said she could not recall Trump’s contribution. Democrats have highlighted other documents where Trump signed only his first name, resembling the card’s signature, though the White House maintains the signature is not his.
