Federal judge rejects Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against Wall Street Journal

A United States federal judge has definitively rejected Trump's defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal. According to Exame, the compensation request was US$10 billion, around R$57 billion.

The decision was given by district judge Darrin Gayles, from Miami, on a Saturday (31), according to Times Brasil. The defendants were Rupert Murdoch and the newspaper itself. As the process ended with a resolution on the merits, the Court analyzed the content of the dispute, and not just formal aspects.

The target of the action was a report published in July 2025 about an alleged letter from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. According to Times Brasil, the correspondence would be a birthday letter for Trump's 50th birthday. For Exame, the case gained weight precisely because of the amount requested and the fact that the publication deals with one of the most sensitive names in recent news about Epstein.

In his reasoning, Judge Gayles stated that Trump did not present plausible arguments of real intent, an element considered central in actions of this type. The decision is 20 pages long, according to Times Brasil.

According to Investing.com, the rejection was prejudiced, which means that there is no need for new action on the same point. For the press, this reduces the chance of the same complaint returning to court in another format.

What changes for the investor

For those who follow the stock market and exchange rate, the episode is a sign that the legal risk linked to this specific process is behind us. The data collected does not provide figures on the financial impact for Murdoch, the newspaper or the companies involved, nor does it indicate whether there will be an appeal. Therefore, it is not possible to measure the effect on the price of any paper. The most prudent thing is to monitor legal developments and the next balance sheets of these companies.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.