Judge Darrin Gayles has dismissed Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation suit against Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal. With prejudice. That means no refiling. The door is closed, locked, and the key is in a landfill.
Trump tried twice. Gayles tossed version one in April and let him patch it up. Version two lasted until Saturday. The judge's review of the sequel: "As with his first attempt, he has failed."
The legal standard was actual malice. Trump had to show the Journal knew the story was false or didn't care. He couldn't. The Journal's story even reported his denial. Gayles noted it told readers Trump called the letter a fake.
That's the lawsuit. He sued a newspaper for printing his side.
Technical analysis time. Plot the claim. Ten billion dollars sought in April. Ten billion sought in the amended filing. Zero dollars collected. That's a flat line with a pulse of billable hours. No support, no resistance, only a federal judge in Miami.
Some of you will read this and look for a trade. Stop. The ticker is NWSA, and it did not care about any of this. Murdoch's empire absorbed a $10 billion threat the way a brick wall absorbs a strongly worded email.
The Journal's lawyers had one theory of the case. The birthday book exists, the letter is in it, and it bears Trump's name. The House Oversight Committee released a copy. The defense was a document.
Trump's lawyers have reportedly signaled they're not done. Bold. It's like a man who's been escorted out of a casino insisting he's still on a hot streak.
Retail traders will recognize the pattern. Buy the dip, lose the dip, average down, get liquidated, call it a "temporary setback." The only difference is that Trump's margin call came from the Southern District of Florida and your broker's was a pop-up.
A 20-page ruling. Two attempts. One signature on a birthday card that the plaintiff says isn't his. Somewhere, a paralegal is billing for the word "amended."
The case is dead twice, and neither funeral had a eulogy.
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
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