One of the worst things the corporate and mainstream did as Donald Trump was about to return to the White House was settle a series of bogus defamation lawsuits filed against networks like CBS and ABC by Trump.
Trump once realized he could shake big companies for payouts, delegitimizing everyone in the media by making them look guilty if they settled.
He has continued to try to discredit stories that are bad for him, while making money from defamation lawsuits.
Trump was furious The Wall Street Journal’s story about Trump’s birthday card to Epstein, so he sued for defamation.
Judge Darrin Gayles wrote in his ruling:
The complaint also alleges that President Trump told the defendants the letter was fake before they published the article. President Trump argues that this accusation shows that defendants acted with serious doubts about the truth of their reporting and therefore with actual malice. The Court disagrees. To establish actual malice, “a plaintiff must show that the defendant deliberately avoided investigation into the veracity of the statement to avoid learning the truth.” Reed, 2025 WL 1874638, at *3. The complaint does not even come close to this standard. On the contrary.
The article explains that before telling the story, defendants contacted President Trump, Justice Department officials and the FBI for comment. President Trump responded with his denial, the Justice Department did not respond at all, and the FBI declined to comment. In short, the Complaint and the Article confirm that Defendants attempted to conduct an investigation. The article also states that the WSJ reviewed the letter. [ECF No. 35-2].
