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The president has been ‘grasping at straws’ to prove his case, according to the judge (AFP via Getty Images)

A federal judge has permanently dismissed President Donald Trump 's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal , Rupert Murdoch, and several journalists over an article about an alleged 2003 birthday letter sent to Jeffrey Epstein .

Florida Judge Darrin P. Gayles dismissed the case on Saturday with prejudice, ruling that Trump failed to establish actual malice, the required legal standard for public figures claiming defamation under the First Amendment.

The lawsuit centered on reporting about a birthday note featuring a sexually suggestive drawing and message allegedly signed by Trump, who has consistently denied writing or signing the document.

Judge Gayles rejected the argument that Trump's public denials should have stopped the newspaper from publishing, emphasizing that allowing denials to block reporting would run…