Trump’s multibillion lawsuit against BBC over Panorama edit set for Florida trial in 2027 | BBC
President Trump’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the BBC over editing of one of his speeches has been settled for one year.
In a blow to the company, the Florida judge also rejected the BBC’s attempt to delay disclosing internal documents related to the Panorama episode that included an edited version of Trump’s 2021 speech.
Trump gave this speech in Washington before his supporters stormed the US Capitol. The BBC apologized for cutting out two parts of the speech without making the edit clear to viewers. However, he denies allegations that he insulted the president.
The BBC’s lawyers in the US argued that the process of disclosing documents related to the case should wait until the judge decides whether the court has the authority to decide the case.
Lawyers, Trump: Second Chance? He said his program had never been broadcast in Florida and that he would seek to have the case dismissed at an early stage.
They said the process of releasing the documents, known as discovery, would be “an unusual step” given questions about whether the episode was actually aired in the state. It was rejected by the judge.
Court documents from the US district court in the southern district of Florida confirmed that judge Roy K Altman set the trial date for February 15, 2027.
The BBC is trying to find a replacement for outgoing director Tim Davie, whose resignation has been part of the controversy.
Panorama’s edit, taken from two parts of Trump’s speech nearly an hour apart, suggested he told 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 BBC is expected to lodge a motion to dismiss the case next month. A BBC spokesman said: “As we have previously stated, we will defend this case. We will not be commenting further on ongoing legal proceedings.”
Trump’s 33-page complaint, filed in December, accused the BBC of “a shocking breach of journalistic ethics”.
“This example of falsification, distorting meaning and splicing together completely unrelated strings of words, is part of the BBC’s long-standing pattern of manipulating President Trump’s speeches and misleadingly presenting the content to defame him, including making up calls for violence that he never made,” the document states.
The documentary was allegedly made available to viewers in Florida through streaming service BritBox, the lawyers in the BBC dispute said.
The case continues the president’s pattern of pursuing media outlets in the courts.
Since his re-election last November, Trump has scored several high-profile legal victories against major media companies in the United States. Disney-owned ABC has agreed to pay $15 million (£11 million) as part of a settlement of a defamation lawsuit it filed following comments made by news presenter George Stephanopoulos.
In July last year, Trump reached a $16 million settlement with CBS News parent company Paramount over what the US president claimed was a mis-editing of a pre-election interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Although many legal experts viewed the case as easily winnable for Paramount, company management viewed it as a distraction; especially since it was seeking federal government approval for a merger with Skydance Media.
