A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump's $3.8bn defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post. The judge found that Trump's company failed to present evidence of actual malice by the newspaper, a requirement for public figures to win such cases.
The dismissal represents another legal setback for Donald Trump in his efforts to challenge media reporting he deems unfavorable, reinforcing the high bar public figures must clear in defamation cases.
A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump's $3.8bn defamation lawsuit against The Washington Post. The lawsuit, filed by Trump's social media company, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), alleged that a 2023 Post article falsely reported on the sources of funding for its operations. Tampa district court judge Thomas Patrick Barber, a Trump appointee, granted summary judgment to the newspaper, stating that TMTG failed to present evidence that the Post acted with actual malice, which is the legal standard required for public figures to win defamation cases.
The Post's article had reported that TMTG was sourcing funds from an obscure financial entity with connections to a bank that serves the adult entertainment industry. The lawsuit claimed the article was an "egregious hit piece" and part of a "years-long crusade" against Trump. However, the judge found the absence of malice meant the lawsuit was destined to fail.
In May, The Washington Post issued a correction to its original article, acknowledging that TMTG did not pay a $240,000 loan referral fee as initially reported, and that a related mention of non-disclosure to shareholders or the SEC was inaccurate because no such payment was made. TMTG viewed this correction as a victory and stated it would evaluate whether to appeal last week's ruling, asserting its intent to continue holding the media accountable.
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