A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal for a second time. The legal action centered on an opinion piece published by the newspaper that referenced the so-called Epstein birthday book.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff issued the ruling on Tuesday, effectively ending the former president’s claims regarding the publication. The lawsuit originally alleged that the newspaper defamed Trump by implying he had a social or professional relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The court previously dismissed the initial complaint, but allowed the former president’s legal team to file an amended version. In the latest decision, the judge determined that the amended complaint failed to provide sufficient evidence to support a claim of actual malice, which is a required legal standard for public figures seeking damages for defamation.
The article in question, titled “The Trump-Epstein Birthday Book,” was published in 2023. Trump’s attorneys argued that the piece was misleading and damaged his reputation by linking him to the disgraced financier. According to reporting by “the judge found that the article did not contain false statements of fact” that would warrant a defamation trial.
The judge noted that the opinion piece was protected under the First Amendment because it relied on public records and provided the newspaper’s interpretation of events. Furthermore, the court concluded that the plaintiff did not adequately demonstrate that the publication acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
This ruling marks a significant victory for the publication as it defends its editorial content against claims of libel. The legal team for the former president has not yet issued a formal statement regarding whether they intend to appeal the dismissal to a higher court.
The case serves as another example of the ongoing legal battles surrounding the former president’s interactions with the media. As the litigation concludes in this district court, the standard for establishing defamation against major news organizations remains a high hurdle for plaintiffs to overcome in the United States legal system.
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