Judge allows Trump's $10bn defamation case against BBC to proceed

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 11 Nov, 01:43 · Archive

A federal judge has allowed Donald Trump's $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC to proceed after rejecting the broadcaster's motion to dismiss.

A federal judge in Florida has allowed Donald Trump's $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC to proceed after the broadcaster sought to dismiss it. Judge Jeffrey Kuntz rejected the BBC's motion to dismiss the defamation claim but dismissed a second claim under Florida's unfair trade practices law.

The lawsuit concerns a BBC Panorama documentary that spliced together two comments Trump made nearly 55 minutes apart in a speech outside the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. The BBC apologised for the edit, saying the broadcast had given 'the mistaken impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action'. The judge noted the editing decision was significant, writing that 'on its face, the editing may independently establish the plausibility of actual malice'. He rejected the BBC's argument that the editing was ordinary condensing of a seventy-minute speech, stating that 'given the time disparity between the two statements, the distance itself tends toward a plausible inference that BBC knew or should have known that the segment they were creating would not and could not have been a truthful statement'.

The BBC said it was 'surprised by this decision but respect the Court's authority' and remains 'confident in our position'. Trump called the ruling a 'huge victory'. The case will now proceed to the next stage, with the judge noting that whether Trump can prove his claims and establish damages will be determined later.

How it is being reported

• Trump slams BBC as ‘terrible abuser of the truth’ after judge rules on defamation lawsuitBoth the US president and the BBC have issued statements as the Trump-appointed judge has allowed the $10bn (£7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit against BBC to proceedThe Mirror · 11 Nov, 02:32
• Florida court rules Donald Trump’s defamation case against BBC can proceedA statement from the BBC said: ‘We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process.’Evening Standard · 11 Nov, 01:34
• Federal judge allows Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against BBC to proceedTrump-appointed judge Jeffrey T Kuntz partially denies British broadcaster’s motion to dismiss over edit Federal judge Jeffrey T Kuntz ruled on Tuesday that Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC can proceed, denying in part the British broadcaster’s motion to dismiss the case. The president’s $10bn defamation lawsuit stems from the BBC’s splicing together of disparate comments he made before the 6 January US Capitol insurrection, as rendered in a Panorama documentary called Trump: A Second Chance. “Accepting the allegations in the complaint as true, the Court finds Trump plausibly pled…Guardian World · 11 Nov, 01:18
• Judge allows Trump's $10bn defamation case against BBC to proceedBut the court dismisses the other part of Trump's lawsuit that alleged the BBC had violated a Florida law.BBC News · 11 Nov, 01:18

In this story: Donald Trump · BBC · Florida · United States Capitol

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