Judge Dismisses Trump Defamation Case Against Wall Street Journal With Leave to Amend

Overview

• Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami, who ruled Monday, threw out the complaint for not plausibly alleging “actual malice” and gave Trump until April 27 to file a revised suit.
• Under the “actual malice” standard, public figures must show a publisher knew a claim was false or recklessly ignored the truth, which is hard to meet at the start of a case.
• The case targets a Wall Street Journal story about a 2003 Jeffrey Epstein birthday card the paper said carried Trump’s signature, later released by Congress, which Trump calls fake.
• The judge said questions about who wrote the card or whether Trump was friends with Epstein are factual issues the court will not decide at this stage.
• Trump said he will refile by April 27, while Dow Jones said it was satisfied with the decision and defended the Journal’s reporting as reliable and accurate.