If you have trashed an article but are unable to clear it from the trash, it may be because the creator is not properly associated with the article.
- Try opening the article.
- Check to make sure that there is a proper user specified as the creator.
- Resave the trashed article.
- Try to empty it from the trash again.
If this works, you might be able to just open the article and then save and close and then empty the trash.