BBC Will Attempt To Throw Out Donald Trump’s $10BN Lawsuit

The BBC has begun an attempt to throw out Donald Trump’s $10BN lawsuit over the botched Panorama edit.

In documents filed yesterday, reported by BBC News, the 100-year-old national broadcaster argued that the Florida court in which the claim has been filed lacks “personal jurisdiction,” the court venue is “improper” and Trump has “failed to state a claim.” The POTUS also failed to show the documentary was published with “actual malice,” the documents add.

While Trump’s lawyers said the October 2024 Panorama titled Trump: A Second Chance? was available in the U.S. on BritBox, the documents dispute this. “Simply clicking on the link that plaintiff cites for this point shows it is not on BritBox,” the BBC lawyers are reported to have said.

BBC News reported that the court documents asked the court “to stay all other discovery” – a pre-trial process in which opposing parties exchange evidence and information.

Trump is suing the BBC for $5BN over defamation and for another $5BN over violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Trump claims that the infamous edit, which saw two sections of his Jan 6 Capitol speech edited together to make it appear as if Trump was inciting insurrection, is “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory and malicious.”

The fiasco led to one of the BBC’s gravest crises for years, with both Director General Tim Davie and news boss Deborah Turness resigning.

While the BBC has apologized for the edit, it has always maintained that it was not done maliciously and that it would fight the legal battle tooth and nail. This comes after various Trump settlements with American news networks including CBS and ABC.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”