Donald Trump speaks during a visit to the Fort Bragg U.S. Army base on Feb. 13, 2026 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Nathan Howard/Getty Images Logo text A Florida federal judge has dismissed President Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its report on a lewd drawing he allegedly contributed as part of a gift to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, stating that no proof of malice was evident in the case.
In the order dismissing the lawsuit brought against the explosive news story’s reporters, the paper, its parent company, News Corp, and even Rupert Murdoch, U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles wrote that Trump’s legal team had failed to argue that the article was published by those named in the complaint with malicious intent.
Judge Gayles, however, did not rule on the veracity of the Journal’s article or whether the facts in it are true and therefore not defamatory toward the president; attorneys for the paper and Murdoch had sought such a determination and for the case to be thrown out entirely. Gayles dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning that Trump may amend and refile the complaint.
“Whether President Trump was the author of the letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation,” Gayles wrote.
The Journal’s July 27 article, titled “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album,” described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said was signed by Trump and included in a 2003 album. The article indicated the letter featured a drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s signature written below the figure’s waist, alongside a message that read: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
After the article was published in late July, Congress subpoenaed the file from the trove of documents related to the Epstein investigation. Trump also publicly threatened a lawsuit after denying involvement in creating the lewd drawing when interviewed by the story’s reporters.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” Trump stressed, “I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else.”
In his ruling, the judge noted that the Journal did reach out to Trump for comment before the article’s publication.
The dismissal of the case is the latest of several developments that have hindered Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial on allegations that he ran a sex trafficking ring. His death, which authorities said was by hanging, has been the subject of multiple conspiracy theories, many involving the large number of global leaders with whom he spent time over several decades.
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