CASE CLOSED: JUDGE PERMANENTLY DISMISSES TRUMP'S $10 BILLION SUIT AGAINST THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

President Donald Trump's second attempt to sue the Wall Street Journal was dismissed with prejudice on Saturday, ending his pursuit of a defamation lawsuit over the newspaper's reporting on his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Reuters reported.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida held that Trump again did not show actual malice, the standard a public figure must meet in a defamation claim. 'As with his first attempt, he has failed,' Judge Darrin P. Gayles wrote.

Gayles pointed to the newspaper's 'thoughtful and detailed investigation' and to reporters' efforts to seek comment from Trump and other officials before publishing, rejecting the argument that the story should have been dropped after Trump denied involvement with Epstein.

'That is not what the actual malice standard requires and runs afoul of the First Amendment,' the judge wrote, according to Reuters.

Trump had refiled the lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion in damages. Saturday's dismissal with prejudice means the case cannot be brought before the court again.

The ruling landed in the final weekend before Tuesday's midterm elections, in which control of Congress — and the shape of Trump's final two years in office — is at stake.