NEW YORK — A U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed President Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, concluding a legal challenge filed in 2022.
Trump alleged that Dow Jones & Company, the Journal's publisher, defamed him through two 2020 articles detailing his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Trump's legal team claimed the reporting falsely implied his involvement in Epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring and sought unspecified monetary damages.
The court found the articles did not meet the legal standard for defamation, specifically regarding "actual malice." The judge determined the reporting accurately reflected public statements and existing legal documents and presented protected opinion and factual accounts, not false statements made with reckless disregard for truth.
The ruling reinforces the high legal bar for defamation claims against publishers. Public figures must prove not only that statements are false but that they were made with actual malice — knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
Trump has 30 days to file an appeal with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
