Judge Blocks Trump Discovery in WSJ Defamation Suit, Sets May 27 Filing Deadline
The ruling underscores the high 'actual malice' threshold that courts use to protect reporting on public figures.
Overview
- U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles denied President Trump’s request to take discovery before he files a viable amended complaint.
- Gayles dismissed the original complaint in April for failing to plausibly allege that the Wall Street Journal acted with actual malice.
- The court set May 27 as the new deadline for Trump to submit an amended defamation complaint.
- The lawsuit challenges a July 2025 Journal report that said Trump wrote a note and drew a lewd image for Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book.
- The House Oversight Committee later released the book page attributed to Trump, which matched the report’s details and weakened his claim.