Suit accuses BBC of doctoring January 6 speech as broadcaster seeks dismissal
Donald Trump’s lawyers conceded earlier this year that they had no evidence that the Panorama documentary at the center of his $10bn (£7.5bn) defamation lawsuit against the BBC was available in the US on the broadcaster’s BritBox subscription service — as they originally argued — or on the BBC’s website, BBC Select, or through US broadcasters.
The lawsuit, filed in Florida, targets an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech Trump gave before the riot at the US Capitol in 2021. It accuses the BBC of “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring” the speech he gave outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
The BBC apologized and said the broadcast had given “the mistaken impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action”. The broadcaster has since asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the program does not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not available in the US.
The deposition dispute is also part of the case. The BBC reported on 23 October that a judge had ordered Trump to answer questions under oath in the lawsuit by 11 December, after the president canceled a previous deposition, citing “matters of national importance”. A lawyer representing the BBC said in court that Trump was campaigning in Georgia in October on the scheduled day and had “prioritised that” over answering their questions.
Trump ultimately agreed to drop BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, from his defamation lawsuit, after the BBC argued that it had “no role in creating or producing the documentary”.
The case moved forward on Tuesday, when Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Florida allowed the defamation claims to proceed after the broadcaster sought to have the lawsuit dismissed. Kuntz found the defamation allegations sufficient for the case to continue.
“Whether President Trump can prove these claims and establish he sustained damages at summary judgment or trial is left for another day,” Kuntz wrote in Tuesday’s order. He did not rule on the merits of the case.
Along with defamation, Trump claimed in the lawsuit that the BBC had violated Florida law, specifically the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Kuntz dismissed that part of the suit on Tuesday, ruling that the documentary did not constitute commercial speech.
Trump called the ruling a “huge victory” in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. A BBC spokesperson said: “We are surprised by this decision but respect the Court’s authority and note the case will now proceed to the next stage.” The spokesperson added: “We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process.”
With the trade-practices claim dismissed, the remaining defamation case will proceed to the next stage, where the question of whether Trump can prove his claims and establish damages remains to be decided at summary judgment or trial.