Trump's $10bn WSJ Epstein-letter lawsuit is thrown out with prejudice
Where it stands
Amended civil defamation complaint dismissed with prejudice; letter authorship and truth not decided; attorneys' fees and costs reserved.
Sources reviewed: Nov 1, 2026 · 11:36 AM EST
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles dismissed Donald Trump's amended defamation complaint against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch and other defendants with prejudice on October 31. The suit concerned The Wall Street Journal's reporting about a birthday letter bearing Trump's name in Jeffrey Epstein's album.
Reuters reported that Trump sought at least $10 billion. The court found the amended complaint still failed to plausibly allege actual malice.
The ruling ends these claims in the district court; it is not a criminal judgment or a finding that Trump wrote the letter.
The response.
Trump denies writing the letter and alleged the reporting was defamatory; defendants sought dismissal. Page 13 of the order expressly leaves the truth of the article and authorship unresolved at this stage. The court retained jurisdiction over attorneys' fees and costs and allowed a fee motion within 30 days. It made no fee award in this order. No new post-ruling statement from Trump or his lawyers was independently verified in this review. The Ledger reviewed the ruling, not a complete appellate docket.
Dates & scope
Source publication: Oct 31, 2026 · 3:34 PM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-31.
Full chronology and review notes
Judge Darrin P. Gayles signed and docketed document 80 on October 31. Reuters published its report at 3:34 p.m. EDT that day. The Ledger reviewed the 20-page order and reporting on November 1; that review is not a new ruling or a new source-publication date.
This is a dated report. The source-review time records when the linked sources were checked; it is not a live update.
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Open the original record.
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida: October 31 order, Trump v. Murdoch, 1:25-cv-23232, ECF 80 ↗
Primary judicial record, 20 pages. Pages 13 and 19-20 distinguish the pleading ruling, unresolved authorship and reserved fees.
- Southern District of Florida public record, archived by the Ledger: Read the court order: fast local PDF copy ↗
Unaltered copy of the same public court document linked above, not a second corroborating source.
- Reuters, via StreetInsider: Judge ends Trump's attempts to sue Wall Street Journal over Epstein reporting ↗
October 31 report, 3:34 p.m. EDT; independently reports dismissal and the damages sought.
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