Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against WSJ, Murdoch Dismissed With Prejudice

Judge Darrin P. Gayles has put an end to the president’s legal battle after the Wall Street Journal published his alleged birthday messages to Jeffrey Epstein last year October 31, 2026 @ 1:12 PM President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a luncheon in the Rose Garden of the White House on Oct. 15, 2026. (Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal and publisher Rupert Murdoch has been dismissed with prejudice, putting an end to the year-long legal battle. Judge Darrin P. Gayles granted the paper’s motion to dismiss Trump’s first amended complaint on Saturday for failing to prove that any potentially defamatory comments were made with actual malice. The president had initially sued the WSJ, Murdoch and parent company Dow Jones & Co. for libel in July 2025 after the paper published his alleged birthday messages to Jeffrey Epstein from 2003. He then amended his complaint in April 2026 after a judge dismissed that suit, with the Journal filing its corresponding motion in June. More to come…