A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, ending the case with prejudice and barring any refiling of the claims.

U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami ruled that Trump’s amended complaint still failed to plausibly allege that the Journal acted with “actual malice,” the high legal standard required for public figures in defamation cases under Supreme Court precedent. The judge described the allegations as “conclusory, vague, sometimes inconsistent with the Article, and often irrelevant.”

This marks the second dismissal of the suit. Gayles first tossed an earlier version in April but allowed Trump to amend it. The revised filing sought at least $10 billion in damages over a 2025 Journal article reporting on a bawdy birthday letter and drawing allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 as part of a birthday album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump had denied writing or signing the letter and called it a fake shortly after the story appeared. The suit also named Rupert Murdoch among the defendants. The Journal stood by its reporting throughout the litigation and included Trump’s denial in the original piece.

In his ruling, Gayles rejected arguments that the newspaper should have halted publication after Trump’s denial or that its investigation was inadequate. “Were that the law, any time a public figure or his team denies an accusation, journalists would be immediately blocked from publishing negative or contradictory press—a result that flies in the face” of the First Amendment, the judge wrote.

Gayles noted the Journal’s “thoughtful and detailed investigation” and said the lawsuit appeared to be “grasping at straws” to manufacture flaws in the reporting. The decision underscores the challenges public figures face when pursuing defamation claims against major media outlets, particularly when the reporting involves sensitive historical associations.

A Dow Jones spokesperson said the company was “pleased with the court’s decision.” Trump’s legal team indicated plans to appeal the ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where arguments could focus on the sufficiency of the evidence presented regarding the letter’s authenticity and the newspaper’s verification process.

The case is one of several high-profile legal actions Trump has pursued against media outlets during his second term. It highlights ongoing tensions between efforts to hold the press accountable for alleged inaccuracies and protections for journalistic inquiry into figures with past connections to controversial individuals like Epstein.

Legal observers noted that the ruling reinforces long-standing First Amendment safeguards that limit liability for news organizations reporting on matters of public concern involving prominent individuals.