A judge in Florida has ruled President Donald Trump must hand over financial records sought by the BBC for its defense against his $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
The U.S. president is suing the corporation over an episode of “Panorama” that edited together different sections of his speech on the day of the Capitol breach in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
The BBC reported that Judge Enjoliqué Lett granted a motion by the corporation’s legal team to compel the release of financial records held by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, created to manage his businesses while he is president.
‘Partial Success’
The judge’s ruling at Tuesday’s opening hearing in Miami can still be appealed, but the BBC said it amounts to a “partial success” in its attempt to force Trump to provide evidence for his claim that he suffered financial loss due to the Panorama edit.
The defamation case is currently at the discovery phase, where both sides must provide documents, internal or otherwise, that could form part of their evidence.
The corporation has produced 87,000 pages of documents, according to the BBC’s lawyers, who said Trump’s legal team had released a “sham production” of 735 pages, which they said were “news articles” and other material “pulled from the internet.”
Charles Tobin, counsel for the BBC, said this meant the discovery process had been “entirely one-sided.”
‘Fishing Expedition’
Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of a “fishing expedition” with subpoenas designed to “harass” former officials.
Alejandro Brito, counsel for Trump, described the BBC’s “sweeping” requests for documents as “oppressive.”
He opposed the BBC’s requests for records of Trump’s conversations with aides relating to the events of Jan. 6, as well as subpoenas issued to federal agencies and former officials.
Shah wrote in the letter that the Panorama episode in question had “unintentionally created the impression … that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
The judge’s decision opens the door for the BBC to peruse the finances of more than 400 companies owned by the Trump family trust.
President Donald Trump looks on during a rally in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021. Jim Bourg/Reuters
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told The Epoch Times via email: “The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election.
Motion to Dismiss
The BBC has sought to have the entire case dismissed, arguing the documentary was not broadcast in the United States. The court has yet to rule on this, but Judge Altman denied the broadcaster’s application to stay the discovery phase of the lawsuit.
In court documents released on March 17, lawyers for the BBC argued that the lawsuit could have a “chilling effect” on “robust reporting on public figures and events.”
The BBC’s flagship “Panorama” program came under scrutiny last November over an episode broadcast on Oct. 28, 2024, a week before the U.S. presidential election.
Through cutting and splicing together different sections of his speech, the documentary created the impression that Trump had encouraged violence at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, according to critics and Trump’s legal team. Protesters had gathered in Washington to show they disputed the result of the 2020 presidential election, won by Joe Biden.
The BBC’s 34-page legal document cited a “lack of personal jurisdiction” and a “failure to state a claim” among the grounds to dismiss the lawsuit.
Lawyers for the broadcaster argued that Trump’s subsequent election victory in 2024 demonstrates that no serious reputational harm was caused by the “Panorama” broadcast.
(Left) Former CEO of BBC News Deborah Turness at an event in London on Oct. 13, 2022. (Right) Former BBC Director-General Tim Davie at the BBC World Service in London on April 28, 2022. Leon Neal/Getty Images, Hannah McKay/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Trump is unable to sue the corporation in England, as the statute of limitations for defamation is only one year. His lawyers filed the claim in the southern district of Florida, where the statute of limitations is two years, in December last year.
The BBC argues that the state of Florida has no jurisdiction because Trump cannot demonstrate that the corporation “purposefully aimed the documentary at Florida” and that it was clearly made for the UK audience.
BBC iPlayer is geo-blocked in the United States, although Trump’s lawyers have argued that it could be accessed by Americans using a virtual private network.
Matt Brittin, a former Google senior executive, took over as the corporation’s director-general in May.
