BBC to seek dismissal of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will petition to dismiss the $10 billion lawsuit it filed over the 2024 “Panorama” documentary that distorted President Donald Trump’s words on January 6.
Trump sued the BBC for $5 billion each for both defamation and violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, seeking a total of $10 billion. The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida, was filed in a personal capacity and names the BBC and BBC Studios Productions as defendants.
The BBC believes the court has jurisdiction and that Trump was not harmed by the documentary. Despite the BBC’s efforts to dismiss the case, Trump’s legal team is not backing down.
“This libel action arises out of a documentary that Defendants British Broadcasting Corporation (“BBC”), BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. and BBC Studios Productions Ltd. did not create in Florida, produce in Florida or broadcast in Florida.” The court file states the following:.
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British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will make a motion to dismiss the $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump. (Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital: “The BBC is liable to President Trump for deliberately and maliciously insulting him by distorting and manipulating his speech. No attempt at legal maneuvering will change this fact. President Trump will continue to hold the BBC and anyone who traffics in fake news accountable.”
The BBC has come under intense scrutiny for the documentary about Trump’s speech before the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Critics claim the documentary is misleading because it does not include Trump’s call for his supporters to protest peacefully.
“Facing overwhelming and justified anger on both sides of the Atlantic, the BBC publicly acknowledged its shocking breach of journalistic ethics and apologized, but did not show genuine remorse for its wrongdoing or make meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic misconduct,” the lawsuit says.
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The BBC had previously issued an apology for the faulty editing and said it had removed the program from its platforms, but a spokesperson for the broadcaster added: “Whilst the BBC sincerely regrets the way the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree that there is a basis for a libel claim.”
The row began with a bombshell report from The Telegraph, which included extracts from a dossier compiled by Michael Prescott, a communications consultant appointed by the BBC to review its editorial standards.
The whistleblower revealed in the BBC Panorama documentary released last year that Trump’s comments in his rally speech on January 6, 2021 were subject to misleading editing and that Trump made false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
President Donald Trump arrives to address a rally in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
The documentary does not include Trump’s call for his supporters to protest “peacefully” and instead adds two separate comments made about an hour apart, making it appear that Trump is calling for violence.
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In the documentary, Trump was seen saying, “We’re going to march towards the Capitol. And I’ll be there with you. And we’re fighting, we’re fighting like hell.”
In effect, Trump said: “We’re going to march on the Capitol. We’re going to support our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we’re probably going to support some of them not so much because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You’ve got to show strength and you’ve got to be strong.” But 54 minutes later, Trump called on his supporters to “fight like hell” for election integrity.
The New York Times described the ordeal as “one of the worst crises in the BBC’s 103-year history”. The scandal led to the resignations of BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness and BBC director general Tim Davie.
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This is an evolving story, more to come…
