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U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida wrote in the
order that Trump had failed to make the argument that the
article was published with the intent to be malicious, but gave
the president a chance to file an amended complaint.
In a social media post several hours after the ruling, Trump
said the decision “is not a termination” but rather a “suggested
re-filing” of his “powerful case,” which Trump said would be
done “on or before April 27th.”
Trump filed the lawsuit in July, following up on a promise to
sue the paper almost immediately after it put a new spotlight on
his well-documented relationship with Epstein by publishing an
article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the
newspaper said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003
album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which
subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate. Trump denied
writing it, calling the story “false, malicious, and
defamatory.”
Attorneys for the newspaper and Murdoch had asked Gayles to rule
that the article’s statements were true and therefore couldn’t
be defamatory, but the judge wrote that “whether President Trump
was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions
of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the
litigation,” Gayles wrote.
The ruling marks yet another blow in the Trump administration’s
efforts to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files
and the president’s attempts to use the legal system to chill
reporting he finds critical of him.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. A spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the
Journal, said the organization was “pleased” with the judge's
decision, adding, "We stand behind the reliability, rigor and
accuracy of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting.”
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