Trump loses legal battle over Epstein-linked Wall Street Journal case

No sábado, o juiz de distrito dos EUA Darrin Gayles concluiu que o presidente não havia estabelecido o padrão de “actual malice” exigido para ações de difamação.

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Under US law, a successful complaint must show that the defendant released a defamatory statement knowing it was false or with “reckless disregard” for its accuracy.

The judge went so far as to suggest that Trump’s legal team had attempted “to manufacture flaws with the investigation” published in The Wall Street Journal.

O caso surgiu a partir de cobertura que vinculou Trump ao falecido e desonrado financista e criminoso sexual condenado Jeffrey Epstein.

On July 17, 2025, The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive describing a sexually suggestive birthday note gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, as part of a book of congratulatory letters.

The letters were reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her involvement in Epstein’s sex-trafficking scheme.

The note attributed to Trump includes typed text framed by a hand-drawn outline of what appears to be a curvaceous woman. At the bottom, where her pelvic region might be, is Trump’s signature.

Trump negou veementemente a responsabilidade pelo texto, pela assinatura e pela obra de arte. Uma cópia da carta de aniversário foi posteriormente divulgada pelo Comitê de Fiscalização da Câmara.

The Wall Street Journal’s article came at a time when Trump’s second administration was facing intense scrutiny over whether it had withheld documents about Epstein’s alleged sex crimes, despite promises of transparency.

Critics had also raised questions about the nature of Trump and Epstein’s relationship. The two men appear to have socialised together, and Epstein was known to have surrounded himself with powerful figures from politics, academia and the business world.

Em 2025, Trump disse que terminou seu relacionamento com Epstein depois que o financiador “stole” funcionárias do seu resort Mar-a-Lago.

Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for sex in Florida in 2008, for which he served 13 months in jail. In 2019, he faced federal charges related to sex trafficking, but he was found dead in his New York City jail cell before he could be brought to trial.

Legal advocates say Epstein’s victims are estimated to number in the hundreds.

Após a divulgação do relatório do The Wall Street Journal, Trump descreveu a cobertura do jornal como “falsa, maliciosa e difamatória”.

His lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Miami on July 18, 2025, accused the paper and its reporters of having “knowingly and recklessly” published “numerous false, defamatory, and disparaging statements”.

O resultado, alegou, foi “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” ao presidente. Dois jornalistas associados ao artigo do The Wall Street Journal foram nomeados entre os réus.

In April, Judge Gayles dismissed the defamation lawsuit, ruling that Trump had failed to prove the reporting was borne of “actual malice”.

But that initial ruling gave Trump the opportunity to refile his complaint, which he did in May.

A ação judicial atualizada afirmou que o The Wall Street Journal foi negligente por não demonstrar como os repórteres receberam e verificaram a carta.

Saturday’s Miami ruling deals a final blow to Trump’s attempt to sue over the issue. Gayles’s decision dismisses the case “with prejudice”, which effectively blocks any future litigation on the matter.

Trump has other ongoing defamation cases against other media outlets, including the BBC and The New York Times.

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