Judge Blocks Trump’s $10B Lawsuit Against Murdoch Over Epstein Letter Fight
A federal judge has dismissed Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal, delivering a setback in a high-profile case tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The ruling lands as Trump continues aggressively targeting media outlets, raising stakes around press freedom and ongoing legal clashes.
According to Reuters and the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled Trump failed to prove the Journal acted with “actual malice” when it reported on a 2003 birthday letter allegedly bearing his name.
The article in question described a letter included in Epstein’s birthday collection, which Trump has denied writing and called fabricated.
But the dismissal does not resolve whether the letter itself is real, leaving a key factual dispute open.
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“This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” Gayles wrote in his ruling.
The decision highlights the high legal bar public figures face in defamation cases, especially when outlets document efforts to verify claims and include denials.
It also underscores a longer-running tension between Trump and Murdoch, once political allies, now entangled in repeated disputes over coverage, influence, and editorial independence tied to Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
The judge gave Trump until April 27 to amend and refile the lawsuit, signaling the legal fight, and scrutiny over Epstein-related records, is likely to continue.
The case may be dismissed for now, but the underlying conflict is far from settled.
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