BBC seeks dismissal of $10bn Trump lawsuit over Panorama ‘fight like hell’ clip | BBC

The BBC will seek to dismiss a $10 billion libel lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over the editing of a speech he gave for Panorama, according to court documents.

The streamer has faced criticism for airing an episode of the investigative documentary series that included an edited clip of Trump speaking at a rally on January 6, 2021, which allegedly gave the impression that he was encouraging his supporters to attack the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Spliced ​​clips from the Panorama edition show Trump telling the crowd: “We’re going to march to the Capitol, and I’ll be there with you, and we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight like hell.” The quotes were taken from parts of his speech almost an hour apart.

According to documents filed Monday, the BBC will seek dismissal, arguing that the Florida court does not have “personal jurisdiction” over them, that the venue is “improper” and that Trump “has not made a claim.”

The company will argue that it did not create, produce or air the documentary in Florida and that Trump’s claim that the documentary was available in the United States on the BritBox streaming service is untrue.

“Just clicking on the link that the plaintiff has specified for this spot shows that it is not on BritBox,” the streamer’s lawyers said in court documents.

The BBC will also argue that the president “failed to plausibly allege” that he aired the documentary with “actual malice”, which public officials are required to show when suing for libel in the US.

The publisher asked the court to “stay all further discovery,” the pretrial process in which parties gather information until a decision on the motion is made.

In seeking a stay of discovery, the BBC’s lawyers said: “The claimant will seek broad and objectionable discovery on the merits, covering all of the BBC’s coverage of Donald J Trump over the last decade or more, and alleging damage to his entire business and political profiles.”

If the case continues, a trial date of 2027 has been suggested.

The BBC has been approached for comment. He previously promised to defend himself against a $10 billion lawsuit over the episode, which airs in 2024.

Trump sought $5 billion in damages on two counts, claiming the BBC defamed him and violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The US president claimed the broadcaster “deliberately, maliciously and deceptively” edited his January 6 speech before the attack on the US Capitol.

Although the BBC had previously acknowledged that the edit was an “error of judgement” and apologized to Trump, it insisted that the defamation claim had no legal basis.

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Deborah Turness, the head of BBC News, resigned last month over the controversy.

Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC was filed in the US district court for the southern district of Florida, even though BBC iPlayer, the main streaming platform that carries Panorama, and BBC One, the main TV channel that broadcasts it, are not available in the US.

The episode was never broadcast in the US and the BBC is expected to argue that it therefore did not have a significant impact on Trump’s reputation among US viewers.

Since his re-election, Trump has scored several high-profile legal victories against major media companies in the United States. Disney-owned ABC agreed to pay $15 million as part of a settlement of a defamation lawsuit filed by news anchor George Stephanopoulos following comments he made.

In July, Trump reached a $16 million settlement with CBS News parent company Paramount over what he claimed was a mis-editing of a pre-election interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.