Judge jams Trump on Epstein birthday book lawsuit after WSJ pushes for dismissal

A federal judge froze all evidence-gathering in President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over an Epstein birthday letter.

U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles issued the stay Wednesday after hearing oral arguments in Miami federal court on the Wall Street Journal's motion to have the case thrown out entirely, according to court records.

Trump sued in July 2025 after the Wall Street Journal reported that a letter bearing his name appeared in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's 50th-birthday album.

The letter contained a drawing of a naked woman and ended with the words, "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," according to the Wall Street Journal's reporting. Trump has denied writing it.

During a hearing on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal argued the case should be killed for good. Gayles suspended discovery in the case later that same day.

"His case should be dismissed again — this time with prejudice," a June 10 filing by the Wall Street Journal said, using a legal term that would bar Trump from refiling in federal district court.

The paper said Trump's amended complaint falls "woefully short" of proving the Journal knew its reporting was false — the standard public figures must meet to win a defamation suit.

"The [amended complaint] only bolsters the conclusion that he can never do so," the filing said.

When Congress subpoenaed Epstein's estate in 2025, the released book contained a letter that matched the Journal's original description exactly, the filing noted.

"Plaintiff tellingly does not dispute that resemblance (because he cannot)," the filing said.

The Journal also moved to recover its legal fees under anti-SLAPP statutes — laws in Florida and New York designed to penalize meritless lawsuits that target free speech — according to the filing.

"This lawsuit, brought by the President of the United States, subverts this principle," the filing said, referring to the First Amendment.

Wednesday's stay also blocks Trump from deposing News Corp Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch, whom Trump had previously said on Truth Social he looked forward to putting under oath in the case, according to court records.

If Gayles grants the Wall Street Journal's motion with prejudice, Trump cannot refile the case in federal district court, the filing said.