BBC Requests US Court to Dismiss Trump’s $10bn Lawsuit
The BBC has petitioned a US court to dismiss former President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit concerning the editing of one of his speeches in a documentary. The broadcaster warned that allowing the case to proceed could create a “chilling effect” on its capacity to report on the president.
Legal Arguments on Jurisdiction and Reputation
In legal documents submitted to the Florida court handling the case, the BBC’s US legal team argued that Trump’s reputation was not harmed by the documentary, which was broadcast in the UK a week prior to his re-election. They emphasized that the Panorama documentary titled Trump: a Second Chance was never published in the US, including Florida, thus the court lacks jurisdiction over the matter.
The BBC’s lawyers also referenced precedent cases to support their position that defendants should not be subjected to “expensive yet groundless litigation,” which impedes the ability to cover public figures effectively.
“All the more so when [the] plaintiff is among the most powerful and high-profile individuals in the world, on whose activities the BBC reports every day,”
the BBC’s legal filing stated.
“The chilling effect is clear. Federal courts in Florida therefore frequently dismiss defective defamation claims like this one at the pleading stage.”
Reference to Previous Trump Lawsuit Against CNN
The BBC’s legal team cited a recent lawsuit filed by Trump against CNN, which was dismissed as “meritless.” The 2022 suit challenged CNN’s use of the term ‘fraud’ in relation to Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was “stolen.”
Apology Over Edited Speech Clip
The BBC has already issued a personal apology to Trump concerning a 12-second clip featured in the 2024 documentary. The clip suggested that Trump told a crowd:
“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.”
These words were taken from different parts of his speech nearly an hour apart. When the edit was revealed at the end of last year, the BBC retracted the segment, stating it had “unintentionally” created “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
Documentary Not Aired in the US or Florida
The BBC emphasized that the documentary was not broadcast in the US or Florida. Their legal filing stated:
“More than a year later, even after being re-elected with the support of a sizeable majority of Florida voters, the president alleged that the documentary defamed him in Florida – where defendants never aired it.”
Despite claims from Trump’s legal team, the BBC asserted that the documentary was never made available in the US on BritBox International, a subscription streaming service owned by BBC Studios, nor on the broadcaster’s international website.
While third-party distributors acquired rights to show the documentary overseas, none aired it in the US. Furthermore, a shorter international version of the documentary did not include the edited segment of the 6 January speech.
“The court should dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice at the outset,”
the BBC’s filing concluded.
BBC Statement on Defense and Jurisdiction Challenge
A BBC spokesperson commented:
“We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us. Put simply, the documentary was never aired in Florida – or the US.
It wasn’t available to watch in the US on , online or any other streaming platforms including BritBox and BBC Select. We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the president’s claim.”
