Judge dismisses Trump’s USD10b defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal
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The news: A US federal judge has dismissed a USD10 billion ($14.6 billion) defamation lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch.
The context: Trump alleged that he was defamed by an article published in the WSJ, which claimed that the President sent convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “bawdy letters” for his 50th birthday album.
The article said that the letter which appeared to be from Trump had a drawing of a naked woman on it with Trump’s signature over the torso, with a message reading: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The article included comments from Trump, who denied writing the letter and threatened legal action.
In his decision, US District Judge Darrin Gayles wrote: “Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that defendants published the article with actual malice, both Counts must be dismissed.”
Trump will be able to file an amended lawsuit, Gayles said. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team confirmed to CNBC that it will refile this “powerhouse lawsuit”.
Lawyers for WSJ published Dow Jones and its parent company News Corp said the article was true, and they cited a subsequent release of the letter by the House Oversight Committee, which received a copy of the birthday book from Epstein’s estate.
The lawsuit named News Corp Chair Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, its CEO, Robert Thomson, and two Journal reporters as defendants.
Trump denied having written the letter and filed the lawsuit the day after the WSJ published the article.
The sources: US District Court Ruling, WSJ, CNBC
