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Judge dismisses Trump's $10 billion suit over Epstein card story

Judge Darrin Gayles ruled the Wall Street Journal did not act with actual malice and let the paper seek legal fees within thirty days; the suit cannot be refiled.

Photo: Daniel Torok · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
▶ As it aired · U.S.

Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger, Chip Darnell and Gloria Vance on this story, from BBN Tonight at 6:30 PM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are NBC News's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Donald Trump
Photo: Daniel Torok · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

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What BBN said about it

  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorOn this Saturday, October 31: a judge throws out the president's ten billion dollar suit against the Wall Street Journal.

  2. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorPolice in Scotland are looking into Prince Andrew's stays at Balmoral. And the Justice Department wants Alaska's Senate ballots separated.

  3. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWe begin in Florida, where a federal judge ended a lawsuit over a birthday card. Chip Darnell has the details.

  4. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThanks, Hank. Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice, which means President Trump cannot refile it.

  5. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe suit said the Journal's story about a birthday card sent to Jeffrey Epstein was defamation.

  6. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe judge said Trump came nowhere close to showing actual malice.

  7. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorActual malice is the standard for a public figure.

  8. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorRight. And the suit argued the Journal should have held the story after Trump denied writing the card. The judge rejected that.

  9. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorJudge Gayles wrote that if that were the law, any denial would block journalists from publishing anything negative or contradictory.

  10. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo a denial is not a stop sign.

  11. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThis was a second try, Hank. The first version was dismissed in April, and the judge let him amend it.

  12. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorTwo tries.

  13. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd the card? The Epstein estate released one matching the Journal's description, and the House Oversight Committee made it public.

  14. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe court also lets the Journal seek attorneys' fees within thirty days. Chip Darnell, BBN News, Washington.

  15. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThanks, Chip. The Journal has thirty days to send the bill, and I suspect it already has a draft.

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The story so far

  1. Classified material missing from Epstein files, documents suggest · CBS News
  2. Trump Won't Back Bolsonaro's Claim, Andrew Probe, Georgia Race · Newsmax
  3. Police in Scotland launch Andrew and Epstein royal castle… · Al Jazeera
  4. Police Investigate Former Prince Andrew and Epstein's Balmoral Visits · The New York Times
  5. Hoffman gives $8M to Wisconsin Democrats as Epstein ads fly · CNBC
  6. Judge tosses Trump lawsuit against WSJ, Murdoch over Epstein story · Axios
  7. Judge dismisses Trump's $10 billion suit over Epstein card story (this story)

From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 31, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months