Federal judge dismisses Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal

The ruling upholds high legal thresholds for public figures bringing defamation suits against news organizations, closing off a high-profile legal challenge seeking $10 billion in damages.

• •U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch with prejudice on Saturday.
• •The dismissal is permanent, meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled.
• •The judge ruled that Trump failed to prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice.
• •The lawsuit stemmed from a Wall Street Journal story published last year describing a sexually suggestive letter and drawing bearing Trump's name in a 2003 birthday album compiled for Jeffrey Epstein.
• •Trump denied writing the letter and accused the paper of publishing false and defamatory statements.
• •Judge Gayles previously dismissed the suit in April for failing to argue malicious intent, granting leave to file an amended complaint in May.
• •The judge cited the 1964 Supreme Court ruling New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, noting the amended complaint's allegations regarding malice were conclusory, vague, and inconsistent.
• •The judge noted that the Journal's article had informed readers that Trump decried the letter as a fake.
• •The Trump administration and Trump are involved in other media-related lawsuits, including suits by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico regarding White House press access.