The BBC has asked a federal court in Florida to dismiss a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald J. Trump over a 2024 Panorama documentary allegedly splicing parts of his Jan. 6 speech. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Florida, seeks $5 billion on two counts: defamation and a Florida trade-practices claim. The BBC argues the court lacks jurisdiction, disputes the program's availability in the U.S., and says Mr. Trump's team has not shown the documentary was produced with the "actual malice" required for a public-figure defamation claim.
BBC Asks Florida Court To Dismiss $10 Billion Defamation Suit From Trump Over Panorama Clip
President Donald Trump speaks to supporters near the White House, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. / Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty
London — The BBC said on Monday it will ask a federal court in Florida to dismiss a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald J. Trump over a 2024 Panorama documentary that his lawyers allege spliced together portions of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech.
The suit, filed last month in the Southern District of Florida, includes two counts — one for defamation and one alleging a violation of Florida's trade practices statute — seeking $5 billion in damages per count. The December, 33-page complaint accuses the BBC of publishing "a false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction" of Mr. Trump in a Panorama episode broadcast in the U.K. a week before the 2024 U.S. election.
One segment of the program examined Mr. Trump's words and conduct in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. The complaint alleges the documentary "intentionally and maliciously sought to fully mislead its viewers" by splicing two portions of the same address — clips the plaintiff says were roughly 55 minutes apart — and omitting what his lawyers describe as a later statement "calling for peace."
BBC Seeks Dismissal: Jurisdiction, Damages, And Availability
In court filings on Monday, the BBC's lawyers argued the Florida court lacks jurisdiction because the documentary was not created, produced, or aired in Florida. The BBC named as defendants the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Studios Distribution Ltd., and BBC Studios Productions Ltd.
The broadcaster's legal team also disputed key factual allegations in the complaint. Attorneys from Ballard Spahr — representing the BBC — challenged the claim that the documentary was available to U.S. viewers via the streaming service BritBox, saying the link cited by Mr. Trump's attorneys does not show the program on BritBox and that it was never available there.
Ballard Spahr further argued the plaintiff has not demonstrated that the documentary was produced with the "actual malice" required for defamation claims brought by public figures, and that the broadcast did not cause the alleged harm to Mr. Trump's reputation: the filing noted Mr. Trump was re-elected after the Panorama episode aired in Britain and won Florida decisively.
In November, the BBC formally apologized to Mr. Trump, saying an edited soundbite in the Panorama program had given "the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action." The BBC added it regretted the editing error but maintained there was no basis for a defamation claim and said it had no plans to rebroadcast the documentary.
A BBC spokesperson told CBS News: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings." CBS News has reached out to President Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito for comment on the BBC's motion.
The litigation is likely to focus first on jurisdictional questions and whether U.S. courts are the appropriate forum for claims arising from a U.K.-produced broadcast, as well as on the high legal standard for defamation suits brought by public figures.
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