A federal judge in Miami on Monday dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, which stemmed from a controversial report about an alleged lewd letter he sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.

US District Judge Darrin Gayles ruled that Trump’s legal team had “not plausibly alleged that the Defendants published the Article with actual malice,” though he granted the president the opportunity to submit a revised complaint.

“President Trump will follow Judge Gayles’s ruling and guidance to refile this powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other Defendants,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team told The New York Post shortly after the ruling. “The President will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in Fake News to mislead the American People.”

Defamation claims brought by public figures have historically been difficult to win, as legal precedent requires proof that false information was knowingly published with malicious intent. The judge noted that the Journal had contacted Trump, 79, and his administration for comment before publishing the article.

While the Journal did not publish the letter itself, it described its contents. House Democrats later released the document publicly, which included a lewd image. The House Oversight Committee had obtained the letter from a birthday book discovered in Epstein’s estate. “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret,” read part of the letter, which bore Trump’s signature.

Trump’s lawsuit, filed in July 2025, asserted that “no authentic letter or drawing exists” between the two.

“We are pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss this complaint. We stand behind the reliability, rigor and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting,” a spokesperson for its publisher, Dow Jones, told The Post.

The controversy intensified weeks before the Journal’s report, when backlash grew over a joint FBI and Justice Department memo stating there was no evidence Epstein maintained a “client list” and that his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was likely a suicide.

The uproar ultimately led to Congress passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, compelling the DOJ to release more than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein.

Trump’s lawsuit named Dow Jones, its parent company News Corp – which also owns The Post – as well as CEO Robert Thomson, Chair Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, and two reporters.

“President Trump’s conclusory allegation that Defendants had contradictory evidence and failed to investigate is rebutted by the Article and is insufficient to establish actual malice,” Gayles wrote. “President Trump’s allegation that Defendants acted with ill-will is insufficient to plead actual malice.”

The judge did not determine whether the article’s claims were true and declined to award legal fees, citing the possibility that Trump may file an amended complaint.

Trump had been photographed with Epstein years ago but has said their relationship ended badly in the mid-2000s. He has stated that he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago and claimed he “stole people that worked for me.” Trump has also said he cut ties with Epstein before his 2006 arrest on Florida child prostitution charges.

Last week, First Lady Melania Trump issued a public statement from the White House rejecting claims about her past connection to Epstein, stating, “I am not Epstein’s victim.”

Since the 2024 election cycle, Trump has filed multiple lawsuits against media outlets, securing $16 million settlements with ABC News and CBS News over their coverage.

In September, a judge dismissed Trump’s $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times related to its reporting on the 2024 election.

Trump is also pursuing a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the outlet of deceptive editing of his January 6, 2021 speech at the White House Ellipse, with the network seeking to have the case dismissed.