Trump's WSJ, Rupert Murdoch Defamation Suit Gets Obama Judge

[highplainsdem]

Source: Newsweek

Obama-appointee Judge Darrin P. Gayles has been assigned to President Donald Trump's defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over the publication's story about an alleged birthday drawing for Jeffrey Epstein.

-snip-

Gayles serves on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where Trump's lawsuit was filed.

He was appointed to the court by former President Barack Obama in 2014, becoming the first openly gay African-American man to serve on the federal bench.

Trump has often accused the judiciary of political bias against him, sharply criticizing judges appointed by Democratic presidents who do not rule in his favor in cases.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-wsj-lawsuit-murdoch-court-obama-judge-2101712

---

How I first heard about this:

HAHAHAHA Donald filed his B lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal in the Southern District of Florida hoping to get Judge Cannon and he got OBAMA APPOINTEE Darrin Gayles instead HAHAHAHA

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2025-07-21T13:43:17.678Z

[Deuxcents]

1. TSF put all his eggs in one basket and most likely never counted on this..a judge with experience

[sheshe2]

2. Obama appointed judge,

openly gay, African-American man. Trifecta!

Hey Don...

[JPK]

5. I want

That umbrella.

[sheshe2]

9. Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=umbrella+with+a+middle+finger&adgrpid=1343603774007388&hvadid=83975385313471&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=102966&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83975583120692%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=24625_13493369&mcid=0c252175eb493560a569f4d420dfa5ce&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_w9mudbsd9_e

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Trump's suit against @wsj.com has been assigned to Darrin Phillip Gayles, an Obama appointee.

Trump's suit against @wsj.com has been assigned to Darrin Phillip Gayles, an Obama appointee.

— Roger Parloff (@rparloff.bsky.social) 2025-07-21T12:42:31.757Z

[Miguelito Loveless]

4. I think the fix is in

Murdoch made sure that Cannon didn't get the case.

[groundloop]

12. The "Fix" is that this case will be tried by a competent judge

[Miguelito Loveless]

14. Exactly,

they made sure Cannon didn't get the job. They are now encouraging his delusions and letting his post his crazy publicly. When this all blows up, they have a fall guy.

[onenote]

22. The Complaint was filed in the Miami division. By Trump's lawyers. Murdoch had nothing to do with it.

Cannon is assigned to the Palm Beach Division.

[walkingman]

6. Listening to Cohen last night - he thinks Murdoch will cave and donate $$$ to his Presidential

Library since it is tax-deductible and to stay in good graces with the WH.

I hope not - but POTUS has a lot of power and influence with the media. Trump seems to be a master at using the legal system and with SCOTUS giving him immunity, a perfect setup for a grifter. Elections have consequences and boy howdy are we finding out.

[FakeNoose]

7. I have every confidence that Judge Darrin Gayles will rule fairly and honestly

Federal judges - with very few exceptions - know what they're doing and are not corrupted by politics.

[tanyev]

8. 🤣

[ProudMNDemocrat]

10. Poor TACO Don was hoping he would get LOOSE Cannon!

Karma is a motherfucking b*tch, eh Donnie?

Suck on that popsicle while you are at it!

[notinkansas]

11. It's hard to imagine that Cannon would be assigned to any case

ever again given her clear bias and judicial misconduct. Even a traffic court case is beyond her expertise.

[Ocelot II]

27. Cannon wouldn't have been assigned to that case anyhow.

It was filed in the Miami division, and she's in the Palm Beach division.

[notinkansas]

28. Oops. Thanks for the correction.

[onenote]

23. Trump's lawyers filed the complaint with the Miami Division of the S.D.FLA.

If Trump wanted it to be assigned to Cannon, his lawyers could've/would've filed it with the Palm Beach Division.

[mdbl]

13. Something's wrong with our judicial system when we have to worry about who appointed a judge

They should all be on the same playbook.

[onenote]

24. See post #23.

[lark]

15. WAAH!!! He expected Ailiene Cannon, but HA, for once he didn't get his preferred judge.

LOL

[onenote]

25. See post #23

[MustLoveBeagles]

16. Good

At least it's not Loose Cannon.

[question everything]

17. I hope that on this matter we agree with Roberts (when he was fair) when he commented that there are

no Democratic judges and no Republican judges only judges.

[Marthe48]

18. I missed any interval when roberts was fair

n/t

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. Judge presiding over Trump's Wall Street Journal lawsuit has seen this movie before

This is the same judge who dismissed trump's lawsuit against Michael Cohen

Judge presiding over Trump’s Wall Street Journal lawsuit has seen this movie before

The Obama appointee made history as the first openly gay Black man appointed to the federal bench.

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

— Lauren Ashley Davis (@laurenmeidasa.bsky.social) 2025-07-21T17:49:19.423Z

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/21/wall-street-lawsuit-judge-donald-trump-00465363

President Donald Trump’s bid to take down the Wall Street Journal over its coverage of his connection to Jeffrey Epstein has landed in the courtroom of Darrin Gayles, who is likely experiencing deja vu.

That’s because Gayles, a 2014 appointee of Barack Obama, had another brush with a litigious Trump in 2023, when the then-former president sought to punish his onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.

Trump sued Cohen in April 2023 seeking a $500 million payout for claims that Cohen violated his attorney-client relationship with Trump and enriched himself off their relationship. Six months later, Trump abandoned the lawsuit, just before Cohen’s lawyers were set to question him under oath.

Trump’s new lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch seeks an even more audacious sum: $20 billion. Trump says the newspaper defamed him by reporting last week that Trump may have sent Epstein a suggestive birthday card more than two decades ago. Trump filed the lawsuit on Friday, and Gayles was assigned to preside over the case on Monday.

But as with the Cohen case, there’s an open question of whether Trump’s new lawsuit is more of a political stunt than a serious attempt to litigate the issue. If Trump pursues the case, he would open himself up to answering questions under oath about his connection to the disgraced financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

[Vinca]

20. Not the Obama he just had "arrested????"

[Bengus81]

21. Take bets on how long until Trump pulls the plug on this FARCE lawsuit?

Within two weeks tops IMO...........

[onenote]

26. I'll take that bet.