In July 2025 the Wall Street Journal reported on a letter bearing Donald Trump's name in a 2003 birthday album for Jeffrey Epstein. Trump denied writing it and sued Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, Robert Thomson and two reporters in federal court in Miami, seeking at least $10 billion on each of two counts. On 31 October 2026 Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice for failing to plausibly allege actual malice, without deciding whether Trump wrote the letter.
As of 1 November 2026 the case stands dismissed with prejudice, and the court has kept jurisdiction to decide attorneys' fees and costs. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team told CBS News he would press forward, but no notice of appeal had been found.
According to Trump's complaint, reporter Joseph Palazzolo emailed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the planned article, and Trump's lawyer replied that afternoon that the letter was not his and demanded the paper not publish. The complaint says none of the defendants responded.
The Wall Street Journal published an article by Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo describing a sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump's name in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday, according to the Associated Press. The paper described the letter but did not publish a photo showing all of it, the AP reported.
Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture and called the story false, malicious and defamatory, the Associated Press and NPR reported. He said he had warned the Journal and Rupert Murdoch that he would sue if it was published.
Trump filed a defamation suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida (case 1:25-cv-23232) against Dow Jones and Company, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson, and the two reporters. It claims defamation per se and per quod and seeks damages, including punitive damages, of not less than $10 billion on each count.
US District Court, Southern District of Florida Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, UniversitAssociated Press (via Anchorage Daily News)Dow Jones, the Journal's publisher, said it stood by its reporting, the Associated Press reported.
The clerk assigned the case to US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles, according to the court docket.
Ghislaine Maxwell, who the AP reported collected the letters for the birthday album, was interviewed by the Justice Department. Trump's amended complaint later cited the transcript, saying she did not remember Trump submitting a letter, and faulted the Journal for not disclosing her account.
Trump's lawyers asked the court to order an expedited deposition of Rupert Murdoch to preserve his testimony, citing his age and health, according to the docket.
In a joint stipulation Murdoch agreed to give a sworn declaration on his health and regular updates, and to be deposed in person within 30 days if the motion to dismiss was denied. Murdoch and Thomson waived personal jurisdiction objections. The judge adopted the stipulation on August 5.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed records from Epstein's estate, including the birthday book, NPR reported.
The estate gave the committee a copy of the birthday book, and committee Democrats posted the page described by the Journal, NPR reported. The page shows typed text inside the outline of a woman's body with a signature reading Donald.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump did not draw or sign the letter and that his legal team would continue to pursue litigation, NPR reported.
The Journal published a follow-up piece, A Visual Breakdown of the Trump Birthday Letter to Epstein, comparing the letter with Trump's earlier communications, according to the court's October 2026 order. Trump's amended complaint argued the piece did not show that Trump wrote or signed the letter.
The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case with prejudice. They argued the article was substantially true because the letter released by the committee matched it, that it was not defamatory, and that Trump could not plead actual malice. They also sought fees under Florida and New York anti-SLAPP laws.
Trump's lawyers filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss and to the defendants' request for judicial notice of the released documents, according to the docket. The defendants replied on November 5.
Judge Gayles heard argument on the motion to dismiss and the request for judicial notice, according to the docket.
Judge Gayles dismissed both counts without prejudice because Trump had not plausibly alleged actual malice, noting the reporters sought comment from Trump, the Justice Department and the FBI. He did not decide truth or authorship, denied the anti-SLAPP fee request without prejudice, and gave Trump until April 27 to amend.
Dow Jones said it was pleased with the decision and stood behind the reliability, rigor and accuracy of the Journal's reporting, according to the Associated Press.
Trump's lawyers asked for limited discovery into the defendants' state of mind and more time to file an amended complaint, according to the court's later order.
Judge Gayles denied discovery into actual malice, saying discovery cannot be used to build a complaint that has failed to state a claim. He extended the deadline for an amended complaint to May 27.
The amended complaint kept both defamation counts against all six defendants and again sought at least $10 billion on each count. It added allegations about Maxwell's Justice Department interview, the Journal's September 8 piece, and what it said the article omitted.
US District Court, Southern District of Florida The defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint with prejudice and, in a separate motion, to stay discovery. They argued failure to investigate is not actual malice and that the article says the letter bore Trump's name rather than that he wrote it.
Lawyers for both sides argued the motion to dismiss the amended complaint before Judge Gayles, according to a defendants' filing and the court's later order.
Judge Gayles granted the motion and dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice, finding it did not plausibly allege actual malice against any defendant. He did not decide whether the article was true, and said whether Trump wrote the letter was a question of fact that could not be decided on a motion to dismiss. He reserved jurisdiction over attorneys' fees and costs and gave the defendants 30 days to file any fees motion, without deciding whether Florida or New York anti-SLAPP law applies. The Associated Press and CBS News reported the ruling.
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team said he would continue to press forward in the lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, CBS News reported. CBS cited a source familiar with the strategy as saying the decision would likely be appealed. No notice of appeal had been found on the docket or in news reports as of 1 November.
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Associated Press (via PBS News) · pbs.orgLast updated 1 November 2026. Spotted an error? See corrections. Every event links to the record it comes from. Allegations are attributed to whoever made them.