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Judge dismisses Trump $10 billion defamation suit against Murdoch, WSJ about Epstein letter
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◎ Multiple-sources
A federal judge in Florida on Monday dismissed President Donald Trump 's $10 billion lawsuit against media baron Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, which claimed the newspaper defamed Trump with a story saying the president had sent a "bawdy" 50th birthday letter to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Key facts
- But Trump will be given the chance to file a new amended lawsuit by April 27 in the case about the letter that the Journal published in July 2024, Judge Darrin Gayles said in his ruling in U.S
- The Article explains that, before running the story, Defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials, and the FBI for comment," the judge wrote
- The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People," the spokesman said
- President Trump responded with his denial, the Justice Department did not respond at all, and the FBI declined to comment
Summary
But Trump will be given the chance to file a new amended lawsuit by April 27 in the case about the letter that the Journal published in July 2024, Judge Darrin Gayles said in his ruling in U.S. District Court in Miami. Gayles said he had to dismiss the civil complaint because Trump, who has adamantly denied sending the letter to his then-friend Epstein in 2003, had "not plausibly alleged that the Defendants published the Article with actual malice. Plaintiffs who are public figures like Trump must show that a defendant had actual malice when they made allegedly defamatory statements, according to legal precedent.