President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones, and two Wall Street Journal reporters, known as Trump v. Murdoch, seeks $10 billion over a July 2025 Journal story tying him to a bawdy 2003 birthday letter for Jeffrey Epstein. A federal judge in the Southern District of Florida dismissed the original complaint in April 2026 for failing to plausibly allege “actual malice.” Trump refiled an amended complaint in late May 2026, and the defendants moved again to dismiss in June 2026. The case is pending before Judge Darrin P. Gayles.1CourtListener. Trump v. Murdoch Docket
What the Wall Street Journal Reported
On July 17, 2025, Journal reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo published an investigation into a leather-bound album Ghislaine Maxwell assembled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. The article described letters from dozens of Epstein’s associates, and one attributed to Trump featured the outline of a hand-drawn naked woman and the signature “Donald.” The letter reportedly ended, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”2Wall Street Journal. Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump
The reporters noted that Justice Department officials had reviewed the album’s pages during earlier Epstein and Maxwell investigations. The article included Trump’s denial. He told the Journal, “This is not me. This is a fake thing,” and added, “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”3First Amendment Encyclopedia. Trump Sues Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch, Over Reporting on Epstein Ties
The Complaint and the $10 Billion Demand
Trump filed suit the next day, July 18, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.4Courthouse News Service. Trump v. Murdoch Complaint Six defendants were named: Dow Jones & Company (publisher of The Wall Street Journal), News Corporation, Keith Rupert Murdoch, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson, and reporters Safdar and Palazzolo.5CourtListener. Trump v. Murdoch — Parties
The complaint alleged that the birthday letter and drawing were “fake,” “nonexistent,” and “concocted,” and that the defendants published without proof of the letter’s existence or origin. It brought claims for defamation per se and defamation per quod, asserting the article was published with “actual malice, oppression, and fraud.” Trump’s lawyers pointed to a July 15, 2025 cease-and-desist email sent to the defendants before publication, warning that the story was false. Damages sought: “not less than $10 billion,” a figure legal commentators said would exceed the largest defamation awards in recent history.6Reuters. Trump Sues Wall Street Journal Over Epstein Report, Seeks $10 Billion
Dow Jones moved to dismiss on several grounds. The defendants argued the article was true, noting the Epstein estate later produced the birthday album under a congressional subpoena and the House Oversight Committee released it publicly in September 2025; their motion stated the album “contains a letter identical to the one described in the Article.” They also argued the story was not defamatory as a matter of law, contending “there is nothing defamatory about a person sending a bawdy note to a friend,” and stressed that the paper had solicited comment from the White House, DOJ, and FBI before publication and had included Trump’s denial in the piece itself. The defendants further characterized the suit as “an affront to the First Amendment” and sought fees under Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute.7ABC News. WSJ Moves to Dismiss Trump’s $10B Lawsuit Over Alleged Letter
Why the Judge Dismissed the Case in April 2026
On April 13, 2026, Judge Gayles dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice in a 17-page ruling.8CBS News. Trump Wall Street Journal Lawsuit Epstein The core problem was actual malice. Under New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a public figure suing for defamation must plausibly allege the publisher acted knowing the statement was false or with reckless disregard for the truth. Trump, the judge found, came “nowhere close.”9Politico. Trump Epstein Lawsuit WSJ
Judge Gayles called the malice allegations “formulaic recitations” of legal elements rather than factual assertions. The Journal‘s reporting process, he noted, cut against malice: the paper contacted Trump, the DOJ, and the FBI before publication and printed Trump’s denial. “President Trump’s conclusory allegation that Defendants had contradictory evidence and failed to investigate is rebutted by the Article,” the judge wrote.10JURIST. Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Defamation Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal, Grants Leave to Amend
The court dismissed the defamation per quod claim separately because Trump had not alleged specific financial losses. Judge Gayles did not decide whether the article was true or defamatory, calling those factual questions unresolvable at that stage. He gave Trump until April 27, 2026, to file an amended complaint and denied the defendants’ anti-SLAPP fee request without prejudice, reasoning that a merits-based finding of no merit would be premature.11FindLaw. Trump v. Murdoch
What the Amended Complaint Adds
Trump’s team refiled on May 27–28, 2026, with a complaint seven pages longer than the first.12The Guardian. Trump Refiles $10bn Lawsuit Against WSJ Over Report on Alleged Epstein Ties The new allegations target the actual malice gap.
The headline addition is a phone call with Rupert Murdoch. The amended complaint alleges that after Journal reporters contacted the White House on July 15, 2025, Trump called Murdoch and told him the story was “categorically false.” Murdoch allegedly replied, “I will handle it,” which Trump said he reasonably understood as a promise the article would not run.13Reuters. Trump Refiles $10 Billion Defamation Suit Against WSJ Over Report on Epstein Ties
The amended complaint also cites testimony from Ghislaine Maxwell. In a July 24, 2025 interview with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell said under penalty of perjury that she did not remember Trump submitting a letter for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Asked whether Trump contributed a card, she said, “I don’t.” She recalled seeing portions of the book during trial discovery and being surprised by how few contributions appeared, adding, “There was none of Mr. Trump.”14ABC News. Ghislaine Maxwell on Epstein’s 50th Birthday Book Trump’s lawyers argued the defendants “deliberately avoided investigating” that account.12The Guardian. Trump Refiles $10bn Lawsuit Against WSJ Over Report on Alleged Epstein Ties
The filing points again to the pre-publication cease-and-desist letter and to a Palazzolo email to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that the complaint says went unanswered by the defendants. It also cites a later Journal article that acknowledged the signature on the birthday letter appeared “substantially different” from Trump’s known signature from the early 2000s, arguing the defendants should have caught the discrepancy before publishing.15Newsweek. What’s New in Trump’s Revised $10B Murdoch Lawsuit Over Epstein Story
Trump again seeks at least $10 billion. A Dow Jones spokesperson responded, “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”15Newsweek. What’s New in Trump’s Revised $10B Murdoch Lawsuit Over Epstein Story
Where the Case Stands Now
On June 10, 2026, the defendants filed a second motion to dismiss the amended complaint, this time seeking dismissal with prejudice, which would permanently bar the claims from being refiled. They also renewed their request for attorneys’ fees and costs under Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute, which penalizes lawsuits filed primarily to punish speech on public issues.16Courthouse News Service. The Wall Street Journal Seeks Second Dismissal of Trump Defamation Lawsuit The case remains active before Judge Gayles, with no ruling yet on the new motion.1CourtListener. Trump v. Murdoch Docket
How This Fits With Trump’s Other Media Suits
The Journal case is one of several defamation actions Trump has pursued against news organizations, but it is procedurally distinct from the ones that have settled. In December 2024, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential foundation to resolve a suit over anchor George Stephanopoulos inaccurately stating Trump had been “found liable for rape,” when a civil jury had found him liable for sexual abuse under New York law.17Reuters. Trump Vows to Pursue More Defamation Claims After ABC News Settlement Trump has also sued CBS News over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris and the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over a pre-election poll.18BBC News. Trump Sues Des Moines Register Over Election Poll
The Freedom Forum noted that courts apply the actual malice standard specifically “to avoid chilling free speech and press rights” when public officials sue for defamation.19Freedom Forum. Trump-Wall Street Journal First Amendment Defamation Whether Trump’s amended complaint clears that threshold is the question Judge Gayles will decide next.