Judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch over Epstein story

Washington: A Florida judge has thrown out Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over an article that revealed a younger Trump contributed to a “birthday book” for his then-friend Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.

The US president filed a $US10 billion ($14.1 billion) lawsuit against the publisher and two journalists over a story published last July that said Trump’s signature appeared below a cryptic letter - written as an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein - framed by the outline of a woman’s body.

“Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter concluded. Epstein’s friend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell put the book together, which was a tribute to Epstein for his 50th birthday.

Trump denied writing the letter or signing it, telling the Journal: “This is not me. This is a fake thing ... I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.” His denial was included in the story.

He subsequently sued in the Southern District of Florida, alleging the paper concocted the story to defame him. At one point, Trump’s lawyers sought expedited testimony from Murdoch due to the 95-year-old press baron’s age and health.

However, on Monday (Florida time), judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit, finding Trump had not shown the newspaper published the article with “actual malice”.

The suit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning Trump could choose to re-file it if desired. Posting on Truth Social, the president indicated he planned to do so.

“Our powerful case against The Wall Street Journal, and other defendants, was asked to be re-filed by the Judge,” Trump said. “It is not a termination, it is a suggested re-filing, and we will be, as per the Order, re-filing an updated lawsuit on or before April 27th.”

Trump and Murdoch have continued to enjoy an amicable relationship despite the lawsuit being filed in July. Murdoch has dined at the White House on multiple occasions, including a dinner in February alongside other News Corp figures.

And Trump appeared by video message at Murdoch’s 95th birthday party in New York last month, praising the Australian-born mogul as a “one of a kind” who had changed the world. The senior Murdoch is now chairman emeritus of News Corp and Fox Corporation, but his son Lachlan runs the business.

The bar for establishing claims of defamation is generally higher in the US than under Australian law. In his order, Gayles wrote that to demonstrate actual malice, Trump would have to have shown that the newspaper deliberately avoided investigating the veracity of the claims it was making, to avoid learning the truth.

“The complaint comes nowhere close to this standard. Quite the opposite,” Gayles said, noting the newspaper sought comment from the White House, Department of Justice and FBI ahead of publication.

“In short, the complaint and article confirm that defendants attempted to investigate.”