BBC seeks $10 billion Trump lawsuit to be dismissed
The BBC has warned that US President Donald Trump’s defamation trial will have a “chilling effect” on “robust reporting on public figures and events”.
The company filed a petition on Monday to dismiss Mr Trump’s $10bn (£7.5bn) claim.
The lawsuit follows criticism of the Panorama documentary, which aired in 2024 and claimed it gave the impression that Mr Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the US Capitol in 2021 after losing the election to Joe Biden.
Citing case law in its motion, the BBC said: “Given the strong interest in ensuring that freedom of expression is not unduly burdened by the need to defend against expensive but unfounded litigation that would restrict the breathing space required to provide robust reporting on public figures and events, early dismissal is preferable.”
Arguing that the case should be dropped, the company continued: “This is compounded when the plaintiff (President Trump) is among the most powerful and high-profile individuals in the world, whose activities the BBC reports on a daily basis.
“The health-giving effect is obvious.”
The motion cited “lack of personal jurisdiction” and “failure to state a claim” as other reasons for seeking dismissal of the case.
In the 34-page document, the BBC said: “Ultimately, the plaintiff (President Trump) falls well short of the high bar of actual malice.
“He failed to plausibly allege facts showing that the defendants (the BBC) knowingly intended to create a false impression.”
The BBC continued: “The fact that the short clip showing the claimant’s 12-second speech on 6 January was part of an hour-long film that gave a comprehensive account of his supporters and a balanced coverage of his re-election path underscores the absence of any real malice.”
The company also argued that Mr. Trump’s defamation claim should be dismissed because the company could not show that “the documentary intentionally targeted Florida.”
The 79-year-old sued the BBC in Florida’s southern district in December last year, but the BBC said he was “not at home in Florida”.
In its motion to dismiss, the BBC added: “The President has no basis to request this court to exercise jurisdiction over the defendants (BBC).”
He also argued that “they are not subject to general personal jurisdiction in Florida because they do not engage in substantial and non-exclusive activities in Florida.”
The BBC said this meant defending Mr Trump’s libel case in the state would be “extremely burdensome”.
The company added: “These burdens cannot be outweighed by Florida’s minimal interest in policing the dispute over the role of UK entities in a documentary aimed at UK audiences who fund the BBC by paying the UK license fee.
“It would be extremely burdensome for these defendants in England to defend themselves in Florida.
“It would also be unfair to require the defendants to sue in Florida, where the BBC took active measures to prevent Americans from viewing this documentary.”
After the motion was introduced, a BBC spokesman said: “We have said throughout that we will vigorously defend the case against us.
“Simply put, the documentary was never released in Florida or the U.S. It was not available to watch in the U.S. on iPlayer, online, or on other streaming platforms, including BritBox and BBC Select.
“We therefore challenged the Florida court’s jurisdiction and filed a motion to dismiss the president’s claim.”
BBC director general Tim Davie resigned in November following allegations that Panorama selectively edited Trump’s speech.
Rhodri Talfan Davies has been confirmed as the company’s interim chief executive and will take on the role from 3 April.
