The BBC is set to challenge President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit, with a motion to dismiss based on jurisdictional grounds and a dispute over claims of malice in court papers filed on Monday, as reported by BBC News.
The lawsuit stems from a controversial edit of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech in a “Panorama” documentary. The fallout led to the resignations of BBC director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness after an internal memo criticizing the edit leaked.
Trump filed the lawsuit in a Florida court last month, alleging defamation and trade practices violations. The BBC’s defense will argue that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction over the British broadcaster and that Trump has not demonstrated a valid legal claim.
Key to the BBC’s defense strategy is the argument that Trump cannot prove actual damages from the program, which aired before he won re-election. The broadcaster will also maintain that Trump cannot establish the documentary was produced with “actual malice,” a crucial element in U.S. defamation law.
The BBC disputes Trump’s claim that the documentary was available on BritBox and emphasizes that it never aired in the U.S. The disputed footage comprises only 15 seconds of an hour-long documentary that featured extensive coverage of Trump supporters and provided balanced campaign coverage.
The controversy revolves around the editing of Trump’s speech before the Capitol riot, where he originally said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and we fight. We fight like hell.” The documentary edited these segments together to show Trump saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
While the BBC has apologized for the edit and acknowledged creating a mistaken impression, it rejects Trump’s compensation demands and maintains there is no basis for a defamation claim.
The BBC will request the court to halt pre-trial evidence exchange procedures until a ruling on the dismissal motion is issued. If the case proceeds, a trial date in 2027 has been proposed, with the BBC indicating its intention to defend against the lawsuit in December.
A BBC spokesperson told Variety, “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
