Judge Dismisses Trump Media's $3.8 Billion Defamation Suit

U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber dismissed a $3.8 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Trump Media and Technology Group against The Washington Post on July 8, 2026. The 2023 lawsuit concerned a May 2023 article about the social media company's financing efforts before its public merger.

Judge Barber ruled that Trump Media failed to provide clear and convincing evidence that The Washington Post published the disputed statements with actual malice, meaning the publisher did not know the information was false or act with reckless disregard for the truth. Although The Washington Post issued a correction in May 2026 acknowledging that two assertions in the story were incorrect, the court still granted summary judgment in favor of the newspaper.

Trump Media characterized the correction as an admission that the story was false and stated it is evaluating whether to appeal the ruling. The Washington Post expressed satisfaction with the decision. This ruling follows a series of other recent dismissals of defamation lawsuits brought by the company and Donald Trump against various news organizations.