Judge dismisses Trump's $10B defamation lawsuit against Wall Street Journal

A federal judge on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, rejecting the president's second attempt to pursue the case.

U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida ruled that Trump failed to establish actual malice, the legal standard requiring public figures to demonstrate that allegedly defamatory statements were published with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.

The dismissal was issued with prejudice, preventing Trump from filing the same claims again in the district court.

Gayles cited the newspaper's extensive reporting process, including efforts by its journalists to obtain responses from Trump and other officials before publication.

Trump's attorneys argued that the Journal should have abandoned the story after the president denied involvement with Epstein. The judge rejected that reasoning, finding that a subject's denial doesn't establish actual malice and that the First Amendment protects journalists' ability to investigate disputed allegations.

Trump had refiled the lawsuit in May after an earlier attempt was dismissed, seeking at least $10 billion in damages.

The Wall Street Journal is owned by Dow Jones & Co., a subsidiary of News Corp. (NWSA).

For investors, the ruling removes a potentially substantial legal liability involving a major News Corp. publication, although the lawsuit's financial implications for the company had remained uncertain. The decision also reinforces the high legal threshold public officials must meet when pursuing defamation claims against news organizations.

Dear Readers: We recognize that politics often intersect with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion.More on News