A federal judge in Florida has thrown out President Donald Trumps $10 billion defamation lawsuit over a controversial report about an alleged birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
The suit, filed last summer, accused media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the newspapers publishers, and several journalists of defamation after the outlet published what it described as a Trump-signed document bearing a sexually suggestive sketch of a woman and the inscription: Happy Birthday, may every day be another wonderful secret. According to Mediaite, the letter was first revealed last July before being turned over to members of Congress by the Epstein estate.
The report stated that the drawing formed part of a 50th birthday album prepared for Epstein in 2003 by his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal sentence for child sex trafficking. By tying President Trump to the alleged document, the story fed into a broader media narrative that has often sought to implicate high-profile conservatives in Epsteins orbit while downplaying other powerful figures.
President Trump has repeatedly rejected any link to the letter, insisting he neither wrote nor signed it and denouncing the coverage before heading to court. For the original article, he told the newspaper: This is not me. This is a fake thing. Its a fake story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I dont draw pictures of women. Its not my language. Its not my words.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Trump had not plausibly alleged that the Defendants published the Article with actual malice, a demanding legal standard that often shields major media outlets from accountability. By dismissing the case without prejudice, the court left the door open for the president to try again with a revised complaint.
Trumps legal team signaled they intend to do exactly that, framing the fight as part of a broader effort to rein in partisan media excess. President Trump will follow Judge Gayless ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the and all of the other Defendants. The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People.
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