The Trump WSJ lawsuit dismissed ruling dealt a setback to President Donald Trump’s legal campaign against major media companies after a federal judge threw out his defamation case against the Wall Street Journal and gave him until April 27 to file an amended complaint.
Trump filed the lawsuit in July 2025 after the newspaper published a report about a birthday card tied to Jeffrey Epstein that it said carried Trump’s signature. Trump has denied that the card is genuine and said the article damaged his reputation.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles ruled that Trump failed to meet the “actual malice” standard that public figures must satisfy in defamation cases. That legal threshold requires a plaintiff to show not only that a statement was false, but also that the publisher knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Gayles wrote that Trump’s complaint fell far short of that standard. CBS News and AP both reported that the judge said the complaint failed to plausibly allege actual malice, though he left the door open for Trump to refile.
Judge points to the WSJ’s reporting process
The ruling emphasised that Wall Street Journal reporters contacted Trump for comment before publication and included his denial in the article. Gayles said that detail undercut Trump’s claim that the paper acted with actual malice because it showed the reporters took steps to investigate and present his response.
Importantly, the court did not decide whether the article was true. AP reported that Gayles wrote questions such as whether Trump authored the letter remain factual issues that cannot be resolved at this stage of the litigation.
After the ruling, Trump said on Truth Social that he would refile the lawsuit by the deadline set by the judge. AP also reported that Trump described the decision as a suggested refiling rather than a final end to the case.
Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, welcomed the decision. A spokesperson said the company stood behind the reliability, rigour and accuracy of the newspaper’s reporting.
Trump’s wider pattern of legal action against major news organisations, including the BBC, The New York Times and others. That broader strategy has raised concerns among critics and press freedom advocates who argue that repeated lawsuits can pressure newsrooms and chill aggressive reporting.
For now, the dismissal marks a legal win for the Wall Street Journal, but it does not necessarily end the dispute. Trump’s decision to amend and refile could keep the case alive in another round of litigation.
