Judge Slams Door on Trump’s USD20B Epstein Letter Lawsuit
(MENAFN) A US federal judge has permanently thrown out President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against a major US newspaper over its report on an alleged sexually suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein that carried Trump’s name, media reports said Saturday.
US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump failed to plausibly show the paper acted with “actual malice” in publishing the story, a US cable news network reported.
Gayles also dismissed Trump’s contention that the newspaper should have held the story after he denied writing the letter, ruling that such a standard would violate the First Amendment. “Were that the law, any time a public figure or his team denies an accusation, journalists would be immediately blocked from publishing negative or contradictory press,” Gayles wrote.
The judge first dismissed the suit in April but gave Trump the chance to file an amended complaint. Gayles concluded the revised filing still failed to cure the legal defects and dismissed the case with prejudice, barring Trump from refiling it in the same court.
“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” a spokesperson for the newspaper’s parent company said.
Trump’s legal team signaled it intends to appeal.
The president filed the original $20 billion suit in July 2025 against the newspaper, its parent companies, Rupert Murdoch and two reporters. The amended complaint demanded at least $10 billion in damages.
Trump has denied writing the letter and accused the newspaper of knowingly publishing false information.
US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump failed to plausibly show the paper acted with “actual malice” in publishing the story, a US cable news network reported.
Gayles also dismissed Trump’s contention that the newspaper should have held the story after he denied writing the letter, ruling that such a standard would violate the First Amendment. “Were that the law, any time a public figure or his team denies an accusation, journalists would be immediately blocked from publishing negative or contradictory press,” Gayles wrote.
The judge first dismissed the suit in April but gave Trump the chance to file an amended complaint. Gayles concluded the revised filing still failed to cure the legal defects and dismissed the case with prejudice, barring Trump from refiling it in the same court.
“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” a spokesperson for the newspaper’s parent company said.
Trump’s legal team signaled it intends to appeal.
The president filed the original $20 billion suit in July 2025 against the newspaper, its parent companies, Rupert Murdoch and two reporters. The amended complaint demanded at least $10 billion in damages.
Trump has denied writing the letter and accused the newspaper of knowingly publishing false information.
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