A US federal judge has dismissed President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, ruling that Trump failed to meet the legal threshold required of public figures in such cases. The suit centred on a 2003 birthday card for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that allegedly bore Trump's signature and a drawing of a naked woman — which Trump's legal team insisted was fabricated, even after a copy was released by members of Congress who obtained it from Epstein's estate. Miami-based District Judge Darrin P. Gayles found that Trump came "nowhere close" to demonstrating "actual malice" — the standard requiring proof that a publisher knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth — and granted Trump until 27 April to file an amended complaint, which Trump said on his Truth Social platform he intends to do.