A federal judge in Florida appeared skeptical on Wednesday of arguments from Donald Trump's legal team concerning whether a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal should proceed. Trump initiated the lawsuit against the Journal and News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch over a July 2025 article.
The article in question reported on a "bawdy" letter, reportedly from Trump, included in a 2003 birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has denied authoring or signing the letter, with his attorneys arguing the Journal published the story despite being told it was false.
US District Court Judge Darrin P Gayles had initially dismissed the case in April, citing insufficient pleading of actual malice, the legal standard for defamation. He then granted Trump an opportunity to refile the lawsuit, which his legal team did in May.
During Wednesday's hearing, Judge Gayles seemed particularly skeptical that Trump had suffered financial harm from the Journal's publication, describing the lawyer's claims as "rather conclusory." Lawyers for the defendants argued that Trump's amended complaint was no better than the original and that the lawsuit should conclude.
While Judge Gayles did not issue a ruling immediately, he indicated that a decision would be forthcoming. He also agreed to stay discovery in the case.