President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival at the White House, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2026-04-13T13:49:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trumps $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.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.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 Trumps signature and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epsteins 50th birthday. The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epsteins 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 articles statements were true and therefore couldnt be defamatory, but the judge wrote that whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epsteins 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 administrations efforts to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files and the presidents attempts to use the legal system to chill reporting he finds critical of him.Neither the White House nor a spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, immediately responded to requests for comment.___Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP MEG KINNARD Kinnard covers national politics for The Associated Press. She lives in South Carolina. twitter instagram mailto JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto