Judge Tosses Trump's Defamation Suit Against WSJ

President Trump's multibillion-dollar defamation case against Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal just hit a wall—but not a dead end. A federal judge in Miami on Monday threw out Trump's $10 billion lawsuit over a story alleging that he sent a "bawdy" 50th birthday card and illustration to Jeffrey Epstein, ruling that Trump failed to show the paper acted with "actual malice," reports CNBC. Because Trump is a public figure, he must prove the Journal knew the claims were false or recklessly ignored the truth, a high bar set by Supreme Court precedent.

Judge Darrin Gayles found the lawsuit didn't plausibly make that case, but said Trump can try again. Citing another legal precedent, Gayles ruled that when a complaint is dismissed for not adequately alleging actual malice, the plaintiff should be given a chance to amend and refile—something Trump is now permitted to do. The president has denied writing the note bearing his signature to Epstein, which was included in a compilation of birthday wishes from global bigwigs.