The BBC has confirmed it will move to have a defamation lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump thrown out, according to a court filing.
Trump filed the lawsuit last month, accusing the British public broadcaster of defamation over a documentary that included edited footage of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021. The program combined two separate moments from the speech, creating the impression that Trump directly urged supporters to march to the US Capitol and “fight like hell.”
In the original speech, Trump’s remark about “fighting” was not directly connected to his later suggestion that supporters walk to the Capitol. However, the way the clips were edited in the BBC documentary did not clearly signal this separation to viewers.
The president is seeking $10 billion in damages, alleging that the BBC knowingly damaged his reputation and attempted to influence American voters. The edited footage appeared in a 2024 episode of the BBC’s investigative series Panorama, titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” The program was not broadcast in the United States.
In a filing submitted on Monday, the BBC said it plans to “move to dismiss the complaint,” arguing that the Florida court where Trump filed the case does not have personal jurisdiction. The broadcaster noted that the documentary was neither produced in Florida nor aired there.
The filing also states that Trump has not adequately shown that he suffered any legally recognizable harm as a result of the program. Additionally, the BBC argues that Trump has failed to plausibly claim that the documentary was produced with “actual malice,” a standard that public figures in the US must meet to succeed in defamation cases.
Legal experts have widely described Trump’s lawsuit as weak. While the BBC previously acknowledged an error in judgment and issued an apology, it said the edit unintentionally created a misleading impression that Trump had made a direct call for violence.
A BBC spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday: “As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
