A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a multimillion-dollar libel lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the owners and publishers of a prominent national newspaper, ruling that the plaintiff failed to plausibly prove the outlet acted with actual malice.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles threw out the amended complaint with prejudice on Saturday, barring any further amendments in the case. The ruling leaves unresolved the defendants’ pending request for attorneys’ fees and costs.
The litigation stemmed from a July 2025 article reporting that a letter bearing Trump’s name appeared in a birthday album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003. Trump consistently denied writing, drawing, or signing the document, labeling it a fake.
In his ruling, Judge Gayles did not decide whether Trump actually wrote the letter, nor did he determine whether the published article was true or defamatory. Instead, the decision turned strictly on the legal standard of actual malice required in defamation claims involving public figures. The judge found that Trump failed to adequately allege that the publishers knowingly printed false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Trump’s legal team argued that the newspaper ignored his denials, performed an inadequate investigation, and omitted details surrounding the origins and authenticity of the letter. However, Gayles pointed out that the published report explicitly included Trump’s denials and detailed outreach efforts directed at him, government officials, Maxwell, and other individuals associated with the birthday album.
“A failure to investigate, standing on its own, does not indicate” actual malice, Gayles wrote, citing precedent from an appeals court decision.
Trump filed the initial lawsuit on July 18, 2025, a day after the article appeared online. The defendants named in the action included Dow Jones & Co., News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson, and the two reporters who wrote the piece. During the proceedings, Trump’s lawyers sought an expedited deposition of Murdoch, citing his age, health, and access to information regarding the story’s editorial origins, a request that Murdoch’s legal team opposed.
In September 2025, a congressional committee released records obtained from Epstein’s estate, which included an album page matching the description published in the article. Gayles declined to formally incorporate the album and letter into the complaint because Trump disputed their authenticity.
Judge Gayles also ruled that the claim requiring special damages failed to identify specific financial losses. Under anti-SLAPP laws designed to protect public debate from retaliatory litigation, the defendants were given 30 days to petition for legal fees and costs, with instructions to address whether Florida or New York law applies and permits such an award.
