Trump’s $10 Billion BBC Defamation Case Can Proceed, Judge Rules
A judge in Florida has let Trump’s $10 billion defamation case against the BBC go forward, though he threw out a separate trade claim. Trump still has to prove the broadcaster knew its edit of his January 6 speech was misleading.
WASHINGTON, Nov 11 – A federal judge in Florida said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation case against the BBC may proceed as planned.
Judge Jeffrey Kuntz rejected the BBC’s request to dismiss Trump’s defamation claim, while dropping a second claim alleging a violation of Florida’s unfair trade practices law.
The judge noted that the ruling does not determine who is right. It only finds that Trump has presented a plausible case, which he will still need to prove if the matter goes to trial.
At the center of the case is a short clip featured in the BBC’s “Panorama” documentary, “Trump: A Second Chance?”, which aired shortly before the 2024 election that Trump went on to win.
The clip combined two separate parts of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, the day his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. In one part, he told the crowd to march to the Capitol, while in another he urged them to “fight like hell.”
The two remarks were nearly 55 minutes apart in the original speech, and the clip omitted a portion in which Trump called for a peaceful protest.
Lawyers for the BBC told the court that this was ordinary editing, done to fit a speech that ran about 70 minutes into 12 seconds of film. The judge did not accept that.
“This was not trimming around the edges,” Kuntz wrote.
In his ruling, the judge said that editing is often necessary, but that the long gap between the two remarks made it plausible that the BBC knew, or should have known, that the clip did not accurately represent what Trump said. He wrote that the edit created something different from the speech itself.
He also found that the edit, on its own, may be enough at this stage to suggest “actual malice.” That is the high standard public figures in the United States must meet to win a defamation case, requiring proof that the publisher knew the material was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
The judge also pointed to earlier errors in the BBC’s coverage of Trump and said the timing of the film mattered, as it aired just as voters were preparing to choose a president.
However, he said Trump would still need to show that he suffered real harm from the film, which was not shown in Florida.
Trump welcomed the ruling in a social media post, calling it a “huge victory” and saying he would continue to fight those who try to deceive the American people.
The BBC said it was surprised by the decision. A spokesperson said the broadcaster respected the court’s authority and noted that the case would now move to the next stage. The spokesperson added that the BBC remained confident in its position and would continue responding through the proper legal process.
The broadcaster has already acknowledged that the edit was misleading and apologized to Trump, but it denies that it defamed him.
The clip triggered a crisis within the BBC last year. A leaked internal memo described the edit as a possible sign of political bias, and the controversy led to the resignations of the broadcaster’s director general and head of news.
Trump filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Florida in December. He asked for $5 billion for defamation and another $5 billion for unfair trade practices. The BBC argued that a Florida court had no power to hear the case, because the documentary was never shown in the United States.
The case is one of several that Trump has brought against news outlets over coverage he does not like, and he also has lawsuits pending against The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, both of which deny wrongdoing.
Last month, a magistrate judge in Florida ruled that Trump must sit for questioning by the BBC’s lawyers by December 11 or face potential penalties. A trial has been set for February 2027.
