Judge ends Trump’s attempts to sue Wall Street Journal over Epstein reporting

A US federal court has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s second attempt to sue the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, dealing another setback to his defamation case.

The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Saturday ruled that Trump had again failed to demonstrate actual malice, a legal requirement for public figures pursuing defamation claims.

“As with his first attempt, he has failed,” Judge Darrin P. Gayles wrote in the ruling.

Gayles highlighted what he described as the newspaper’s “thoughtful and detailed investigation” and noted that its reporters had sought comments from Trump and other officials before publishing the report.

“Grasping at straws, the Amended Complaint attempts to manufacture flaws with the investigation,” the judge wrote.

Trump’s lawyers had argued that the newspaper should have abandoned the story after the president denied any involvement with Epstein.

However, Gayles rejected the argument, saying it did not meet the legal standard for actual malice and ran contrary to the First Amendment.

Trump had refiled the lawsuit in May, seeking at least $10 billion in damages over the newspaper’s reporting.

The latest dismissal was issued with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot bring the same case before the court again.