Trump defamation lawsuit dismissed with prejudice against Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch

A US federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch. The case focused on reporting about Donald Trump’s links to Jeffrey Epstein. US District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami threw out the suit with prejudice on Saturday. That means the case cannot be filed again.

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Judge Gayles ruled that Donald Trump did not meet the legal test for defamation. The order said the president failed to show the defendants acted with actual malice. The ruling also said the lawsuit was "grasping at straws\" as it attempted to manufacture flaws in the Journal’s investigative reporting.

Wall Street Journal lawsuit and Jeffrey Epstein story

The legal dispute centred on a Wall Street Journal article published last year. The report described a sexually suggestive letter that the paper said carried Donald Trump’s name. The Journal said the letter appeared in a 2003 album. The album was compiled for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday.

According to the newspaper, the letter included text set within an outline. The outline appeared to be a hand-drawn naked woman, the Journal reported. The letter ended with, \"Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret,\" the report said. Donald Trump denied writing the letter.

Wall Street Journal lawsuit details and Ghislaine Maxwell role

The Journal reported that the letter was collected by Ghislaine Maxwell. The report said Ghislaine Maxwell gathered items for a birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein. This was years before Jeffrey Epstein’s first arrest in 2006. The report also noted a later falling-out between Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.

Donald Trump criticised the report and called it \"false, malicious, and defamatory.\" The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami. It named the newspaper, its reporters, and Rupert Murdoch. The filing alleged \"knowingly and recklessly published numerous false, defamatory, and disparaging statements.\"

Wall Street Journal lawsuit dismissal with prejudice meaning

The court’s decision ended the case permanently. A dismissal with prejudice blocks any fresh attempt to bring the same claims again. Judge Gayles’s order rejected the claims under the actual malice standard. The ruling left the Wall Street Journal reporting and its handling of the material at the centre of the dispute.

With inputs from PTI