MIAMI — A federal judge in Miami dismissed President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles issued a 17-page ruling finding that Trump had not met the legal standard required to proceed with the case.

"Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that Defendants published the Article with actual malice, both Counts must be dismissed," Gayles wrote. Actual malice is the legal standard requiring that statements about a public figure were published with knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard for their truth.

Gayles allowed Trump to refile the case by April 27, 2026, to amend the complaint and allege actual malice. The judge also declined to make a factual finding at this stage that documents produced by the Epstein estate are the same documents referenced in the article.

The lawsuit named the Wall Street Journal, its parent companies Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp, the reporters on the story, and Rupert Murdoch as defendants. Sources differed on the amount of damages sought, with one placing the figure at $10 billion and another at $20 billion.

In July 2025, the Journal published a story reporting that Epstein's 50th birthday book from 2003 included a "bawdy" letter inside a hand-drawn outline of a nude woman bearing Trump's signature underneath. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives had subpoenaed and obtained a redacted version of the birthday book from Epstein's estate, which included the letter at the center of the lawsuit.

Trump dismissed the story as "FAKE." "This is not me. This is a fake thing," he said. A spokesman for Trump's legal team said, "The President will follow Judge Gayles's ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants." The spokesman added, "The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People."

Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019, and a medical examiner ruled the cause of death was suicide by hanging.