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President Trump’s Lawsuit Over Jeffrey Epstein Birthday Letter Dismissed By Court
President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal has officially been dismissed.
Trump, 79, filed the lawsuit against the media outlet after it reported on a birthday card he allegedly sent Jeffrey Epstein for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday. Trump denies that he wrote and sent the letter, but United States District Judge Darrin Gayles said in his ruling on Monday, April 13, that the president failed to meet the legal standard of actual malice in his lawsuit.
“Because President Trump has not plausibly alleged that Defendants published the Article with actual malice, both Counts must be dismissed,” the court ruling reads.
According to the document, “actual malice” would have come into play if the writers of the article willfully ignored anything that could have proven the letter wasn’t authentic. Furthermore, the judge ruled that because The Wall Street Journal reached out to Trump himself, the FBI and the Justice Department about the letter, it had done its due diligence to authenticate the story. By including Trump’s denial in the article and “allowing readers to decide for themselves what to conclude from the [Article], any allegation of actual malice [is] less plausible,” according to the ruling.
However, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, so Trump and his legal team can amend their complaint and go after The Wall Street Journal again if they choose.
“President Trump will follow the judge’s ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants,” Trump’s legal team said in a statement to NBC News. “The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People.”
The card in question was later released by the Epstein estate, which Trump says is a fake. The card appears to have an outline of a naked woman with Trump’s alleged signature seemingly representing her pubic hair. The writing on the naked body imagines a conversation between Trump and Epstein.
It concludes with: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
