Judge dismisses Trump defamation lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ about Epstein letter

A federal judge in Florida on Monday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against media baron Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal, which claimed the paper defamed Trump with a story that said the president sent a birthday letter to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

But Judge Darrin Gayles said Trump would be given the chance to file a new amended motion in the case. Decision in U.S. District Court in Miami.

Gayles said he was forced to dismiss the civil complaint because Trump “failed to plausibly allege that Defendants published the Article with actual malice.”

The judge cited legal precedent that says a plaintiff “must have the opportunity to amend his complaint” if the case is dismissed for failing to allege facts in the complaint “that would give rise to an inference of actual bad faith.”