Federal judge dismisses Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal with prejudice.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed President Trump's defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and related defendants over a 2025 article about a sexually suggestive birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein. The judge ruled Trump failed to plausibly allege actual malice under the New York Times v. Sullivan standard, and dismissed the amended complaint with prejudice, barring refiling. The suit followed an April dismissal that had allowed Trump to refile.
18
Divergence score
12 outlets covered it, splitting into 12 framing camps across 4 bias groups.
12 camps
4 bias groups
The spectrum · how 12 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Reason
AP News
CNN
CBS News
Politico
South China Morning Post
Reuters
Bloomberg
NBC News
Wall Street Journal
Al Jazeera
PBS NewsHour
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
Reason
Trump vs. WSJ Libel Lawsuit over Trump's Alleged Birthday Wishes to Epstein Thrown out
legal-doctrine analysis · neutral
CNN
Judge tosses Trump’s lawsuit against Wall Street Journal again, this time for good
defeat in Trump's press crusade · negative
First to report
- CNNfirst
- Politico+48 min
- Reuters+6.1 h
- AP News+6.6 h
- Reason+6.9 h
- Bloomberg+6.9 h
- South China Morning Post+7.0 h
- CBS News+7.5 h
- Wall Street Journal+7.7 h
- NBC News+7.7 h
- PBS NewsHour+8.1 h
- Al Jazeera+9.2 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
Headlines that changed · the same article, re-listed with a new headline
Reuters · 2026-10-31 21:45 UTC
US judge dismisses Trump's lawsuit against Wall Street Journal with prejudice - Reuters
The split, in one line
Coverage now emphasizes the actual malice standard's decisive role in Trump's defeat, with outlets split between framing it as a legal precedent victory for press freedom versus highlighting Trump's Epstein connection and the judge's characterization of his claims as legally baseless.
How each outlet covered it
Broad agreement on what happened
Outlets across the spectrum land in roughly the same place: the shared language is highlighted.
THE LEFT
“Judge dismisses with prejudice Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal”CBS CBS News LEFT-CENTER
18LOW DIVERGENCE
THE RIGHT
“Trump vs. WSJ Libel Lawsuit over Trump's Alleged Birthday Wishes to Epstein Thrown out”R Reason RIGHT-CENTER
DOWN THE MIDDLE
“Judge ends Trump's attempts to sue Wall Street Journal over Epstein reporting - Reuters” · AP News, Politico, South China Morning Post, Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour
+Hide the full sourcingSee how all 12 outlets put it
LEFT1
CNNCNN Judge tosses Trump’s lawsuit against Wall Street Journal again, this time for good 10h ago LEFT-CENTER2
CBSCBS News Judge dismisses with prejudice Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal 2h ago NBCNBC News Judge dismisses Trump’s $10 billion defamation suit over Jeffrey Epstein birthday card story 2h ago CENTER5
APAP News 'Grasping at straws': Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein letter - AP News 3h ago PPolitico Judge tosses Trump’s revised lawsuit over Wall Street Journal Epstein report 9h ago RReuters Judge ends Trump's attempts to sue Wall Street Journal over Epstein reporting - Reuters 3h ago BLBloomberg WSJ Wins Dismissal of Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Suit 3h ago PBSPBS NewsHour Judge dismisses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter - PBS 2h ago 6 tracked claims across 12 outlets
Fact ledger
All6Disputed1Claimed1Corroborated4
3/12
Disputed
The dollar amount of the lawsuit was $10 billion.
Corroborated
Disputed
5 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger