The BBC has asked a US court to dismiss Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over the editing of his speech in a documentary, arguing that the case should be thrown out as it lacks jurisdiction and could have a “chilling effect” on reporting.
Key Takeaways
The BBC has filed a motion in a U.S. court to dismiss Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over the editing of his speech in a documentary. The broadcaster argues that the court lacks jurisdiction as the documentary was never aired in the U.S., and that Trump's reputation was not damaged. The lawsuit stems from a 12-second clip in the BBC Panorama documentary “Trump: A Second Chance,” which spliced together parts of Trump’s speech made on January 6, 2021.
- BBC files motion to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit
- Court lacks jurisdiction as documentary was not aired in the U.S.
- Trump's reputation was not damaged by the documentary
- Lawsuit stems from a 12-second edited clip in a BBC Panorama documentary
- BBC apologized for the edit but denies defamation
According to multiple reports, the BBC filed a motion in a Florida court, stating that the documentary was never aired in the US or Florida. The broadcaster’s lawyers claimed Trump’s reputation had not been damaged by the documentary, given it aired in the UK a week before his re-election. They also argued that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case as the documentary was not published in the US.
The lawsuit stems from a 12-second clip in the BBC Panorama documentary “Trump: A Second Chance,” which spliced together two parts of Trump’s speech made on January 6, 2021. The edit suggested that Trump told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.” The BBC has since apologized for the edit, calling it an “error of judgment” that gave a mistaken impression of a direct call for violent action.
The BBC’s motion to dismiss argues that Trump cannot plausibly claim the documentary harmed his reputation, as he was re-elected shortly after its release. The broadcaster also cited other cases to argue that defendants should not have to deal with “expensive yet groundless litigation,” which restricts the ability to cover public figures. A BBC spokesperson emphasized that the documentary was never available in the US on iPlayer or any streaming platforms, including BritBox and BBC Select.
The trial date for this case has been provisionally set for February 2027 according to Los Angeles Times. The motion filed by the BBC also argues that Trump failed to “plausibly allege facts showing that defendants knowingly intended to create a false impression.” According to the same source, the documentary spliced together three quotes from two sections of a speech Trump made on Jan. 6, 2021, into what appeared to be one quote, in which Trump appeared to explicitly encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol building.
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