‘Grasping at straws’: US judge throws out Trump suit against WSJ over Epstein letter

A federal judge dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over a story about a letter to Jeffrey Epstein, ruling the president failed to prove actual malice. The judge called the suit 'grasping at straws' and dismissed it with prejudice, barring refiling.

A federal judge on Saturday dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, ruling that the president failed to prove actual malice. US District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami threw out the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The judge wrote that the lawsuit was 'grasping at straws' and had attempted to 'manufacture' flaws in the Journal's investigative reporting. The suit stemmed from a Journal story about a sexually suggestive letter and drawing that the paper said bore Trump's name, included in a 2003 birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein. Trump denied writing the letter and called the story false. The judge noted that the Journal's article did not ignore Trump's denial but informed readers of it. The dismissal is a blow to Trump, who has pursued adversarial relationships with news organizations during his second term. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.