A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against a major daily newspaper over an article publishing a 2003 birthday letter attributed to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
District Judge Darrin P. Gayles ruled that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the publication acted with actual malice or printed the report knowing it was false. While declining to rule definitively on the authenticity of the contested letter, the judge concluded that the publication had properly investigated the matter and acted in good faith. The ruling is final and bars the plaintiff from filing an amended version of the complaint, following an earlier dismissal in April.
The underlying dispute centers on a $10 billion lawsuit brought against the news outlet and its executive leadership after the publication printed details of a 2003 birthday book entry. The document, which surfaced publicly via congressional Democrats on social media in September 2025, was reportedly compiled by Epstein’s companion Ghislaine Maxwell for his 50th birthday and included contributions from dozens of acquaintances, including Trump during his years as a real estate developer.
The typewritten message featured an illustrated sketch of a nude woman and included an imagined dialogue between the two men. The text attributed to Trump read, in part, “We have certain things in common Jeffrey,” alongside remarks about enigmas and a closing wish that “every day be another wonderful secret.” The guest book also contained other double-entendre messages referencing Epstein’s lifestyle before his 2019 arrest on sex-trafficking charges and subsequent death in a federal detention cell.
The emergence of the correspondence renewed public focus on Epstein’s network of prominent associates and coincided with broader pressures for the release of millions of pages of investigative files. The fallout from those disclosures has sparked international inquiries, arrests, and resignations. Meanwhile, the judiciary continues to present legal hurdles for the administration, including a separate challenge filed over a proposed triumphal arch near a military cemetery outside Washington.
