CBC Lite Sections News • World Judge throws out Trump's $10B US lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday card CBC News | Posted: April 13, 2026 6:55 PM | Last Updated: April 13 Trump said card was fake, despite public release as part of subpoenaed Epstein files Image | Media Trump Wall Street Journal Caption: A federal judge threw out a lawsuit on Monday that was launched by Donald Trump against the Wall Street Journal, saying it failed to establish malicious intent. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab A federal judge on Monday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal — involving publication of a birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein signed by Trump — a setback for the president in his legal campaign against media companies he accuses of treating him unfairly. The case was one of several that Trump has filed during his presidency against major media outlets over reporting that he has characterized as unfair or false. That has led to concern among Democrats and press freedom advocates that he is seeking to use defamation cases to quell critical coverage. Trump’s lawsuit said the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper tarnished his reputation with an article describing a birthday card to deceased sex offender Epstein bearing Trump’s signature. Trump and his lawyers said the card ​is fake, even after it was released by lawmakers investigating Epstein’s case. Image | USA-TRUMP/JUSTICE-PATEL Caption: The birthday card Trump allegedly wrote to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago is displayed while Rep. Jamie Raskin speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Sept. 17, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon/Reuters) (BUTTON) Load image Open image in new tab Trump filed the lawsuit in ​July 2025 as his administration faced criticism from its conservative base and congressional Democrats over its handling of the case against Epstein, a financier who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges. * Democrats release suggestive letter to Epstein purportedly signed by Trump * Trump sues Wall Street Journal reporters, owners after Epstein story, court records show Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Darrin ​P. Gayles, an appointee of former U.S. president Barack Obama, said that Trump had not come close to meeting the "actual malice" ⁠standard that public figures must clear ⁠in defamation. That means they must prove not only that a public statement about them was ‌false but also that the media outlet or person who made the statement knew or should have known that it was false. "This complaint comes nowhere close to this standard," Gayles wrote. "Quite the opposite." WATCH | Trump denies card is real: Media Video | The National : Caption: After it was released to the public by a congressional committee, U.S. President Donald Trump continued to deny allegations he wrote a suggestive personal note to Epstein for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Trump vows to refile Gayles said Trump could file an amended version of the lawsuit by April 27. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he would refile the lawsuit by that date. A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal's parent company, said ⁠in a statement, "We are pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss this complaint. We stand behind the reliability, rigour and accuracy of The Wall Street Journal's reporting." Gayles wrote that the Journal's reporters reached out to Trump for comment beforehand, and printed his denial. That allowed readers to decide for themselves what to conclude, cutting against Trump's ‌assertion that the newspaper acted with actual malice, the judge said. The ruling did not address whether the article was true. * Melania Trump denies ties to Jeffrey Epstein in surprise statement at White House The Epstein case generated conspiracy theories that the government covered up the financier’s ties to the rich and powerful and obscured details about his death, which was ruled a suicide. Trump amplified such conspiracy theories about Epstein during the 2024 presidential campaign and vowed to open the government’s investigative files if he won. He reneged on that promise but ​has called the ensuing scandal a Democratic hoax. Trump and Epstein were once friends, but Trump says he severed ties before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in 2008. Trump has consistently denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes. WATCH | Surprise statement from Melania Trump about Epstein: Media Video | The National : Caption: U.S. first lady Melania Trump stunned observers with a surprise public statement denying any relationship with deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. His lawsuit against the ⁠Wall Street Journal came in response to an article asserting that Trump’s signature was on a 2003 birthday card for Epstein that included a drawing of a naked woman ⁠and a reference to shared secrets in an imaginary dialogue between Trump and Epstein. Trump’s lawsuit repeatedly asserts the card is fake and takes the Journal to ⁠task for ⁠not publishing it as proof, but a copy was later released ​by Democrats in Congress who obtained it from Epstein’s estate. Chilling effect on speech In seeking to dismiss the case, the Wall Street Journal said the lawsuit was ​meritless and threatened to chill the speech of those ⁠who would dare to publish content the president does not like. Trump has also sued the BBC, citing misleading editing of a speech, the New York Times over articles and a book about him, and an Iowa pollster and a newspaper over a poll that showed him trailing then-U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential campaign. * Trump sues BBC for defamation over editing of pre-riot speech, seeking up to $10B US * Judge throws out Trump's $15B US lawsuit against the New York Times * Judge permanently blocks Trump order to end funding for National Public Radio The New York Times suit was thrown out in court, while the Iowa case is ongoing. The BBC previously apologized to Trump over the editing incident, acknowledging an error in judgment, but said the president has no legal basis to sue. ABC settled with Trump after he sued over an anchor’s inaccurate comments about a civil case accusing him of sexual abuse. CBS struck a similar deal after Trump sued over its edits to an ⁠interview with Harris. More Stories Like This The related links below are generated automatically based on the story you’ve just read. Loading... CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth website. To see what's new, check out our release notes. For high quality images, media, comments, and other additional features visit the full version of this story. We and select advertising partners use trackers to collect some of your data in order to enhance your experience and to deliver personalized content and advertising. If you are not comfortable with the use of this information, please review your device and browser privacy settings before continuing your visit. 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