Trump drops $10 billion lawsuit against Wall Street Journal, Murdoch

Federal courts in Washington, D.C., have become the latest battleground for media disputes involving the White House. Judge Tanya Chutkan dismissed President Donald Trump's multibillion-dollar lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Saturday morning.

The legal action began in 2025 when Trump filed a complaint alleging defamation. The suit targeted a specific article that detailed the former president's financial and personal connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump's legal team claimed the publication damaged his reputation and cost him money in endorsement deals and book sales. The initial filing sought over $10 billion in damages, a sum that legal analysts described as unusually high for a media case.

The case moved through the discovery phase over the last six months. Both sides exchanged thousands of pages of emails, flight logs, and financial records. Murdoch's defense team argued that the story was factually accurate and protected by the First Amendment. They submitted affidavits from three journalists who worked on the piece, confirming that their reporting was based on verified documents. Trump's attorneys countered that the tone of the article was malicious and that the timing of the publication was designed to harm his political standing.

Judge Chutkan reviewed the motions from both sides and issued a 42-page order. She stated that the plaintiff had not met the burden of proving actual malice. The judge noted that the core facts of the Epstein relationship were already public knowledge before the article appeared. She ordered the case dismissed without prejudice, meaning Trump can refile if he obtains new evidence.

The next step is scheduled for next Tuesday, when Trump's legal team will file a notice of appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeal is expected to take at least four months to be heard. No date has been set for oral arguments. The dismissal removes one of the high-profile legal fights from the docket just as the administration faces other court challenges regarding its memorial arch project.