The federal judge who has been assigned to take care of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal is Darrin P. Gayles, a former federal prosecutor who was appointed by Barack Obama.
Gayles, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, is a former US attorney who was appointed by Obama in 2014. At the time, a vote of 98-0 unanimously confirmed him in the Senate. Gayles went on to become the first openly gay Black man to serve on the federal bench. His appointment to Trump’s case happened randomly.
Trump’s lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami on July 18. It accuses the newspaper, its parent companies, executives and journalists of falsely claiming that Trump wrote a 50th birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump’s lawsuit reportedly names Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp, WSJ publisher Dow Jones, executive Robert Thomson, and two WSJ journalists whose bylines were there in the story.
Who is Darrin Gayles?
Gayles served as a judge of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit for over ten years in the past, according to St. Thomas University’s website. “Judge Gayles was appointed to the County Court of that circuit by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2004. In 2011, former Florida Governor Charlie Crist elevated Judge Gayles to the Circuit Court, where he served until his federal appointment. Judge Gayles was retained on both courts without opposition in 2006 and 2012, respectively,” the website states.
{{/usCountry}}Gayles served as a judge of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit for over ten years in the past, according to St. Thomas University’s website. “Judge Gayles was appointed to the County Court of that circuit by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2004. In 2011, former Florida Governor Charlie Crist elevated Judge Gayles to the Circuit Court, where he served until his federal appointment. Judge Gayles was retained on both courts without opposition in 2006 and 2012, respectively,” the website states.
{{/usCountry}}Gates is a graduate of Howard University and The George Washington University Law School. His career in law began in 1993 as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He subsequently worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant District Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). He later worked as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and served in that office’s Appellate, Major Crimes, and Narcotics Sections until he was appointed to the County Court in 2004.
Gayles is notably a former co-chairman of the 11th Judicial Circuit’s (Florida) Professionalism Committee. He actively volunteers in many of South Florida’s civic and charitable organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 100 Black Men of South Florida, and the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.