A federal judge just dealt Donald Trump a crushing legal blow — tossing out his $10 billion lawsuit over a reported birthday message sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
In a blunt ruling, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles said Trump’s case against The Wall Street Journal didn’t even come close to meeting the legal standard for defamation.
Trump had sued after the Journal published details of what it described as a birthday letter he allegedly sent Epstein, reportedly featuring a crude drawing and suggestive message. The former president has repeatedly denied the letter is real, calling it “fake.”
But the court wasn’t buying his argument.
To win a defamation case, Trump needed to show the paper acted with “actual malice” — meaning it knowingly published false information or recklessly ignored the truth. According to Gayles, he failed spectacularly.
“The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard,” the judge wrote, emphasizing that the Journal sought comment from Trump, the Justice Department, and the FBI before publishing — and included Trump’s denial in its reporting.
In other words, the paper did its homework.
The ruling dismantles a key pillar of Trump’s lawsuit, which targeted not just the Journal, but also its parent companies and executives, including Dow Jones & Company and News Corp.
Still, the judge left a narrow opening: Trump’s legal team can try again, with stronger evidence, by April 27.
The controversy stems from a report published last year describing a bizarre message allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday — a note that included a hand-drawn nude figure and a cryptic line wishing him “another wonderful secret.”
Trump has flatly denied ever creating such a drawing, insisting he “never wrote a picture” — despite the existence of other sketches attributed to him over the years.
The story didn’t end there.
After the initial report, lawmakers obtained materials from the Epstein estate, and the Journal later published what it said was the full letter — including the drawing — further intensifying scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump denied any connection to Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, even as past social ties from the early 2000s continue to resurface.
