One of the worst things that corporate and mainstream did when Donald Trump was set to return to the White House was settle a series of bogus defamation lawsuits brought against networks like CBS and ABC by Trump.
Once Trump realized that he could shake down big corporations for payoffs, and in the process delegitimize anyone in the media by making them look guilty if they settled.
PoliticusUSA is 100% independent, and you can support us and save 20% on a yearly subscription today.
He has continued to try to discredit stories that are bad for him while making money with defamation lawsuits.
Trump was livid over 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 Defendants that the Letter was a fake before they ran the Article. President Trump argues that this allegation 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 the defendant deliberately avoided investigating the veracity of the statement in order to evade learning the truth.” Reed, 2025 WL 1874638, at *3. The Complaint comes nowhere close to this standard. Quite the opposite.
The Article explains that, before running 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 Article confirm that Defendants attempted to investigate. The Article also states that the WSJ reviewed the Letter. [ECF No. 35-2].
