US judge dismisses Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against Wall Street Journal, Murdoch

• A US judge dismissed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch

• The judge ruled Trump failed to prove actual malice, permanently barring him from refiling the case

• The lawsuit centred on an alleged 2003 birthday letter linked to Epstein, which Trump denied writing

A US federal judge on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent company and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over a report detailing his alleged ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

US District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. The judge ruled that Trump had failed to establish that the defendants acted with actual malice, a legal requirement for public figures pursuing defamation claims.

In his ruling, Gayles said the amended complaint failed to demonstrate that the newspaper knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. He also criticised the lawsuit for attempting to manufacture flaws in the Journal's investigative reporting.

The case stemmed from a Wall Street Journal report published last year about a sexually suggestive letter and drawing allegedly bearing Trump's name in a birthday album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.

According to the report, the letter was collected by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell for the album and contained a message ending with the words, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Trump denied writing the letter and described the newspaper's report as false, malicious and defamatory. His lawsuit accused the Journal, its parent company and reporters of knowingly publishing false and damaging claims, alleging that the report caused substantial financial and reputational harm.

The lawsuit had earlier been dismissed by Judge Gayles in April after he found that Trump had failed to sufficiently establish actual malice. However, the judge allowed him to submit an amended complaint, which was filed in May.

In Saturday's ruling, Gayles again rejected the allegations, citing the US Supreme Court's landmark 1964 decision in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The ruling established that public figures must prove actual malice to succeed in defamation cases.

The judge also noted that the Journal's report had included Trump's denial of the letter's authenticity and his claim that he had not written it.

The dismissal marks a legal setback for Trump, who has pursued several legal battles involving media organisations during his second presidential term. His other disputes include cases involving the BBC, The Associated Press and CNN, among other media outlets.

The White House did not immediately issue a public response to Saturday's ruling.

Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

With AP inputs