Judge Dismisses Trump's Defamation Case Against WSJ Over Epstein Letter

A federal judge on Monday dismissed President Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal (Center bias) over an article describing a birthday letter he allegedly sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Details: In July 2025, The Journal reported on a sexually suggestive birthday card given to Epstein by Trump in 2003. The card was included in an album compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump filed the lawsuit, worth $10 billion, shortly after the article was released. The judge ruled Trump hadn't made a valid legal claim he was defamed by the article, and that to show defamation, Trump had to demonstrate the Journal acted with "actual malice." Trump can file a new amended lawsuit until April 27.

The Letter: The Journal described the card as "bawdy" and containing "several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman." It wrote, "A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist." The letter concluded with "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret." In an interview with the Journal following the report, Trump denied writing the letter and drawing the picture, calling it fake.

How the Media Covered It: Reuters (Center) said the ruling is a "setback" in Trump's "legal campaign against media companies he accuses of treating him unfairly." NPR (Lean Left) also called the ruling "another blow" in the administration's "effort to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files" and the president's attempts to "chill reporting he finds critical of him." Fox News (Right) and Townhall (Right) emphasized the Trump administration's defense that Trump didn't write the letter and noted the judge also didn't determine whether Trump was the author of the letter. The National Review (Right) was critical of Trump's intent to refile the case, describing the decision as "dismantling [Trump's] paltry, 'implausible' showing on actual malice."

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