Judge Dismisses President Trump Defamation Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal

A federal judge in Florida dismissed a revised 10 billion dollar defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal over a story concerning a birthday card sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that the amended complaint failed to meet the legal threshold of actual malice required in defamation claims involving public figures.

The dismissal was issued with prejudice, meaning the president cannot refile the same legal action after his initial attempt was thrown out earlier in the year.

The legal battle stems from a report published last year by the newspaper regarding an album compiled for Epstein in 2003 before the financier faced sex crimes charges.

The birthday book included a letter and a drawing bearing the president's name, which the White House and the plaintiff have repeatedly maintained are fake.

Judge Gayles wrote in his ruling that the lawsuit was grasping at straws to manufacture flaws in the news outlet's reporting.

The judge wrote that the amended complaint falls short of pleading actual malice.

The court rejected arguments that the newspaper should have withheld its report simply because the subject denied the accusations.

As Judge Gayles wrote, if that were the standard, journalists would be blocked from publishing negative or contradictory press.

The article detailed a note containing a dialogue and a signature placed near the outline of a naked woman.

The House Oversight Committee later publicly released a copy of the card after obtaining it from the Epstein estate.

The lawsuit also targeted the parent company Dow Jones and media executive Rupert Murdoch.

Legal experts note that the plaintiff's team could challenge the latest ruling by filing an appeal in a higher court.