法官驳回特朗普针对华尔街日报的爱泼斯坦信件诽谤诉讼Judge Dismisses Trump's Defamation Lawsuit Against Wall Street Journal

盖尔斯法官此前曾于2026年4月驳回过特朗普最初提起的诉讼，当时裁定起诉书中针对恶意的指控过于公式化，远未达到公众人物诽谤案的法律标准，但当时允许原告提交修正起诉书以弥补法律缺陷。时隔半年多后，法官在长达20页的新裁决中认定，特朗普修正后的起诉书与第一次尝试一样依然失败，原告未能合理说明每位被告在发表争议报道时存在明知虚假或罔顾真伪的“实际恶意”。

Judge Gayles had earlier dismissed Trump's initial complaint in April 2026, ruling at the time that the claims of malice were formulaic and came nowhere close to satisfying the legal threshold required for public figures, while granting leave to amend those deficiencies. In the new 20-page ruling issued more than six months later, the judge found that Trump's revised complaint suffered from the exact same fatal defect as his first attempt, failing to plausibly allege that each named defendant published the disputed report with knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.

裁决书明确指出，原告的修正起诉书试图人为制造《华尔街日报》新闻调查中的漏洞，这种做法是在“抓稻草”。鉴于这是特朗普第二次尝试陈述其诉求却依旧未能跨过法定门槛，盖尔斯法官裁定以带有偏见的方式予以驳回。依据联邦民事诉讼程序，带有偏见的永久驳回具有终局性，直接剥夺了特朗普就针对鲁珀特·默多克及该报的相同指控在联邦法院重新提起诉讼的权利。

The ruling underscored that the amended filing attempted to manufacture defects in The Wall Street Journal's reporting process, describing the effort as grasping at straws. Because this represented Trump's second unsuccessful attempt to plead viable defamation claims, Judge Gayles concluded that a dismissal with prejudice was warranted. Under federal civil procedure, a dismissal with prejudice is permanent and incontrovertible, legally barring Trump from refiling another lawsuit in federal court asserting these same claims against Rupert Murdoch and the newspaper.

引发该起诉讼的报道由《华尔街日报》于2025年7月刊发，内容围绕吉斯莱恩·马克斯韦尔在2003年为杰弗里·爱泼斯坦50岁生日整理的一本贺寿册展开。报道指出，该纪念册中包含一封带有特朗普签名的贺卡，文字周边勾勒出看似手绘的裸女轮廓，并在私处位置签有特朗普的名字“Donald”，信件结尾写着祝愿“每天都是另一个美妙的秘密”，并附有一段虚构的对话内容。

The dispute originates from a report published by The Wall Street Journal in July 2025 regarding a birthday album compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. According to the article, the album featured a card bearing Trump's name with text enclosed within the hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, alongside what appeared to be Trump's first name signed in the pubic area. The document closed with the greeting wishing that every day be another wonderful secret and incorporated a typed note outlining an imaginary conversation with Epstein.

在报道刊发后，爱泼斯坦遗产委员会向众议院监督委员会移交了生日册的相关副本，该委员会随后将其公开发布，其中的贺信内容与该报的描述一致。特朗普在诉讼中斥责该报道纯属凭空捏造，指控记者错误地认定他绘制了裸女素描并签字；特朗普本人坚决否认撰写或签署该信件，白宫方面也明确坚称该文件系完全伪造。

Following the publication, the Epstein estate provided copies of the birthday album to the House Oversight Committee, which subsequently released the material publicly, confirming that the card matched the description reported by the newspaper. Trump's lawsuit accused the publication of fabricating the account, alleging that the journalists falsely represented as fact that he drew the naked woman's figure and signed his name. Trump maintained that he never created or signed the card, and the White House similarly asserted that the document was an outright fake.

盖尔斯法官在裁决书中着重评估了《华尔街日报》采编流程的严谨性，指出该报在发表前开展了周密而详尽的调查，并不存在法律意义上的蓄意造假。法官明确否决了特朗普诉状的核心论点之一，即媒体在收到当事人坚决否认后就应自动承担暂缓或撤回刊发报道的义务。裁决指出，法庭并未去实体判定特朗普是否确实亲笔撰写了涉案贺信，因为原告未能建立起关于媒体明知虚假而报道的法律前置条件。

Judge Gayles evaluated the rigor of the reporting process in his ruling, noting that The Wall Street Journal carried out a thoughtful and detailed investigation prior to publishing the story, which undermined allegations of intentional fabrication. The judge squarely rejected one of the central contentions in Trump's lawsuit, which argued that the news organization had a legal obligation to withhold publication once the president issued a denial. Gayles emphasized that the court made no factual determination on whether Trump personally authored the disputed letter, because the complaint failed to establish the prerequisite legal threshold showing that the journalists reported with actual malice.

裁决书从宪法第一修正案的高度阐明了界限，强调如果接纳原告的司法逻辑，那么任何公职人员或公众人物及其公关团队只要对指控予以否认，新闻记者就将立即被剥夺发表负面或矛盾报道的权利。盖尔斯法官认定，强行要求新闻机构在遭遇当事人否认时撤稿将直接摧毁宪法赋予的新闻自由，因此特朗普不能仅仅凭借自己提出过否认，就指控媒体发表经调查核实的新闻报道构成了诽谤与实际恶意。

The ruling examined the matter under the framework of the First Amendment, reasoning that establishing the standard sought by the plaintiff would produce unconstitutional restrictions on news gathering. Judge Gayles observed that if the law required journalists to halt publication whenever a public figure or their representatives denied an accusation, reporters would be immediately blocked from publishing negative or contradictory press. Gayles concluded that allowing denials to act as an automatic gag order would run directly contrary to First Amendment protections, meaning Trump could not sustain a defamation claim merely because the paper ran the article despite his objections.

在裁决下达后，各方迅速作出不同表态。负责出版《华尔街日报》的道琼斯公司发言人发表简短声明，对联邦法院驳回起诉的决定表示满意。与此同时，特朗普法律团队发言人则确认总统打算对裁决提起上诉，并在声明中表示特朗普将继续推进针对该报以及所有其他被告的诉讼，声称总统将继续要求那些以虚假新闻和抹黑言论误导美国公众的主体承担法律责任。

The issuance of the federal court ruling prompted swift and contrasting responses from the involved parties. A spokesperson for Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, issued a brief statement affirming that the company was pleased with the court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit. Conversely, a spokesman for Trump's legal team confirmed that the president intends to challenge the ruling on appeal, stating that Trump will continue to press forward in the litigation against the newspaper alongside all other named defendants to hold accountable those who mislead the American public with false reporting and smears.

白宫面对裁决展现出审慎态度。当媒体就周六的判决提出置评请求时，白宫并未立即作出公开回应，也没有答复美联社的询问，而是将有线电视新闻网等媒体的问询直接转介给特朗普的个人律师团队处理。尽管初审法庭已作出永久驳回的裁决，原告方知情人士透露，特朗普方面依然计划通过上诉程序寻求推翻该项判决。

The White House maintained a circumspect posture following the announcement of the dismissal. Officials did not issue an immediate public reaction to Saturday's ruling and did not respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press. When asked for comment by television networks including CNN, the White House directed inquiries to Trump's personal attorneys. Despite the definitive dismissal with prejudice entered by the district court, individuals familiar with the legal strategy confirmed that the president's team intends to pursue the appellate process in an effort to reverse the judgment.

盖尔斯法官做出的这项永久驳回裁决，构成了对特朗普总统及其政府在第二任期内对抗新闻机构行动的一次法律打击。现任总统在任内针对新闻机构因具体报道直接提起诽谤诉讼，在法律界被视为极其罕见的历史性举措，接受咨询的法律分析人士表示无法记起此前曾有在任总统采取类似行动。特朗普长期使用法院诉讼对抗对其不利的报道，并经常公开指责发表异议内容的媒体为虚假新闻，对涉及的记者发表负面言论。

The permanent dismissal by Judge Gayles marks a defeat for President Donald Trump and his administration, both of which have pursued adversarial relationships with news organizations during his second presidential term. Initiating a defamation lawsuit against a news outlet over its coverage while serving as commander in chief is historically extraordinary; legal analysts consulted by television networks observed they could not recall another instance in modern history where a sitting president sued a news publication over an investigative report. Trump has maintained a long-standing pattern of utilizing the judicial system to challenge unflattering press accounts, routinely branding outlets that run stories he opposes as fake news and disparaging the reporters involved.

除了针对《华尔街日报》的诉讼外，特朗普还卷入了涉及多家主流媒体的更广泛法律纠纷。他目前面临涉及英国广播公司（BBC）和美联社（AP）的法律诉讼，同时有线电视新闻网（CNN）、MS NOW以及政客新闻网（Politico）也正在对他提起诉讼。这三家媒体的诉讼起因于特朗普在2026年9月中旬取消了它们的白宫出入资格，媒体机构正通过司法程序寻求恢复采访权限。

Beyond his court fight against The Wall Street Journal, Trump is embroiled in legal disputes involving multiple major news outlets. He faces active litigation involving the BBC and The Associated Press, alongside an ongoing lawsuit brought against him by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. Those three media organizations filed suit against the president seeking the restoration of their press credentials after he banished them from access to the White House in mid-September 2026.