The first round went to the judge. President Trump lost. His $10 billion defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal was thrown out in April. The judge said Trump came “nowhere close” to proving the newspaper acted with actual malice.
Now, Trump is stepping back into the ring.
President Trump on Wednesday refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and convicted sex offender. The lawsuit is one of several Trump has brought against news organizations, part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media.
The amended complaint names Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp and its CEO Robert Thomson, along with two Wall Street Journal reporters, Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo, as defendants. Trump says they defamed him and caused him to suffer “overwhelming” financial and reputational harm.
The Article That Started It All
The Wall Street Journal published an article on July 17 describing a birthday card given to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. The card, the Journal reported, bore Trump’s signature and included a drawing of a woman’s body.
Trump says the card is fake. His lawyers have been consistent: the signature is not his. The drawing is not his. The entire thing is a fabrication designed to damage his reputation.
“The defendants recklessly disregarded whether the defamatory statements were true and/or they purposefully avoided the discovery of the truth,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the amended complaint.
The Journal has not backed down. Dow Jones has said it has full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of its reporting and will vigorously defend the lawsuit.
Why the First Case Was Thrown Out
In April, US District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles dismissed Trump’s original complaint. The judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, found that Trump had not met the “actual malice” legal standard for public figures in defamation cases.
Actual malice is a high bar. It requires evidence that a defendant published a statement that they knew — or should have known — was false. Trump, the judge ruled, came “nowhere close” to proving that the Wall Street Journal acted with actual malice.
The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Trump was allowed to refile. He had until April 27 to do so. He missed that deadline. Now, a month later, he has refiled anyway. The legal strategy is not obvious. The determination is.
The Broader Media War
Trump’s fight with the Wall Street Journal is not an isolated battle. He has filed defamation and other lawsuits against multiple media organizations, including the New York Times, the BBC, and Iowa’s Des Moines Register. Those outlets have denied wrongdoing and are fighting the cases in court.
Beyond lawsuits, Trump’s administration has acted to restrict press access to government agencies and threatened to use regulatory powers against critical outlets, drawing legal challenges from media organizations.
The White House has described Trump as the most open and accessible US president ever, saying his administration has broadened press access in unprecedented ways. Critics see a pattern of intimidation. Supporters see a president fighting back against biased coverage.
The Wall Street Journal lawsuit sits at the intersection of both views.
The Epstein Shadow
Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His case has generated conspiracy theories that became popular among Trump’s base of supporters, who believe the government covered up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful.
Trump has said he parted ways with Epstein before the financier’s legal troubles became public in 2006. The birthday card from 2003, if real, would fall within the period when Trump and Epstein were still social acquaintances. If fake, it would be evidence of a deliberate smear.
Trump is betting $10 billion that the card is fake. The Wall Street Journal is betting its reputation that its reporting is accurate. A federal judge will eventually decide who is right.
The Bottom Line
President Trump has refiled his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The amended complaint names Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, News Corp, and two Journal reporters as defendants. A federal judge threw out the first version of the lawsuit in April, ruling that Trump had not met the “actual malice” standard required for public figures.
Trump’s lawyers now argue that the newspaper “recklessly disregarded whether the defamatory statements were true” and “purposefully avoided the discovery of the truth.” The Journal says it will vigorously defend the case.
