The Florida state district court dismissed US President Donald Trump's lawsuit seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation from the publishers of The Wall Street Journal, WSJ reported on Monday evening, citing LETA and DW.
The lawsuit concerned an article published in July 2025, which discussed a postcard that Trump allegedly once gifted to the now-deceased American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A photograph of the postcard was published in September 2025 by Democrats in the US House of Representatives. The postcard features the silhouette of a naked woman and includes a dialogue between "Jeffrey" and "Donald." The greeting concludes with the phrase: "Happy Birthday — and may every day be a new wonderful secret."
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>🚨🚨HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist.
— Oversight Dems (@OversightDems) September 8, 2025
Trump talks about a “wonderful secret” the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files! pic.twitter.com/k2Mq8Hu3LY
WSJ, covering this story, noted in particular that Trump denied sending the postcard to Epstein and threatened the publication with legal action.
The judge concluded that the journalists conducted an investigation and did not act with malice.
According to the judge, to prove defamation, Trump needed to show that the publication and its journalists acted with "actual malice," meaning they knowingly published false information or recklessly disregarded the truth.
"Trump failed to prove that the journalists acted with malice and intentionally avoided verifying his claim that the letter is a forgery," WSJ noted.
In preparing the publication, the journalists sought comments from Trump, representatives of the US Department of Justice, and employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the judge indicated. "In short, the complaint and the article confirm that the defendants attempted to conduct an investigation," he added.
Trump may amend his lawsuit and refile it by April 27, which he intends to do, a representative of his legal team reported.
