BBC will aim to have Trump’s $5bn defamation lawsuit thrown out
The BBC will file a petition to dismiss the lawsuit it filed regarding how Donald Trump’s speech dated January 6, 2021 was edited in the Panorama documentary.
The US president launched a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit in a Florida court last month, accusing the BBC of violating libel and trade practices laws.
Court documents filed on Monday show the broadcaster will argue that the Florida court did not have “personal jurisdiction” over the BBC, that the courtroom was “inappropriate” and that Trump “did not make a claim”.
The BBC had previously apologized to Trump for the edit but rejected claims for damages and disagreed that there was any basis for the defamation claim.
The company will also argue that the Panorama program was not broadcast in the US and did not defame the US president.
He will also argue that the president has not proven that the documentary caused him any real harm, noting that he was re-elected after the program aired and carried Florida with a landslide majority.
Trump claims the documentary aired on Britbox, which the BBC says is untrue.
The BBC will add that Trump cannot plausibly claim that the documentary was released with “genuine malice”.
It is noted that the clip is an approximately 15-second segment of the hour-long program, in which his supporters are discussed comprehensively and his re-election path is discussed in a balanced manner.
“We will march to the Capitol and applaud our brave senators, congressmen, and women,” Trump told the crowd in a speech before the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
More than 50 minutes later, he said in his speech: “And we fight. We fight like crazy.”
A clip on the Panorama show showed him saying: “We’re going to march to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we’re fighting. We’re fighting like crazy.”
The BBC had previously acknowledged that the edit gave the “false impression” that Trump was “directly calling for violent action”, but disagreed that it was the basis for the defamation claim.
A leaked BBC internal memo in November criticized how the conversation was edited and led to the resignations of the company’s chief executive Tim Davie and its news director Deborah Turness.
In Monday’s court documents, the publisher also asked the court to “stay all other discovery,” a preliminary hearing process in which opposing parties exchange evidence and information, until a decision on the motion is made.
A proposed trial date of 2027 was stated if the case progresses.
