A federal judge in Miami on Saturday dismissed President Donald Trump’s amended defamation lawsuit with prejudice against media baron Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal, which had claimed the paper defamed Trump with an article claiming the president sent a “bawdy” 50th birthday letter to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The ruling comes about six months after Judge Darrin Gayles first dismissed the $10 billion lawsuit against Murdoch and the newspaper he owns.
By dismissing the complaint with prejudice, Trump cannot file another amended version of the lawsuit in district court. However, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told CNBC on Saturday that the president plans to appeal the decision.
“President Trump will continue to pursue his powerful case against the Wall Street Journal and all other defendants. The President will continue to hold accountable those who mislead the American people with fake news and smears,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Spokespeople or legal representatives for the Journal and Murdoch did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judge Gayles, as he did when he first dismissed the complaint, noted that Trump, who categorically denied sending the letter to his then-friend Epstein in 2003, had “failed to plausibly allege that defendants published the article with actual malice.”
“As in his first attempt, he failed,” reads Gayles’ ruling on Saturday. “Addressing issues, the amended complaint attempts to fabricate flaws in the investigation.”
Plaintiffs who are public figures like Trump must show that a defendant acted with actual malice in making allegedly defamatory statements, according to legal precedent.
The amended lawsuit contained new details and claims, including that Murdoch told Trump “I’ll take care of it” during a phone call about an article describing a birthday letter to Epstein that allegedly bore Trump’s signature, Newsweek previously reported.
Judge Gayles rejected each of Trump’s arguments in the amended complaint, including that the Journal failed to adequately investigate the letter, omitted relevant details and published the letter after the president and his representatives denied its authenticity.
Gayles said the latter argument would effectively allow public figures to block unfavorable reporting, which “goes against the First Amendment” which protects freedom of speech and the press.
Saturday’s ruling is the latest setback in the dispute between Trump and the media. On October 22, another federal judge ordered Trump to appear for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11.
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