The BBC has announced plans to file a motion seeking the dismissal of a $5 billion lawsuit brought by United States President Donald Trump over the editing of his January 6, 2021 speech in a Panorama documentary.
Trump filed the suit in a Florida court last month, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation and violations of trade practices laws. He claims the documentary misleadingly edited his speech ahead of the riot at the US Capitol, creating the impression that he directly incited violence.
Court documents filed on Monday show that the BBC will argue the Florida court lacks personal jurisdiction over the corporation and that the venue is improper. The broadcaster will also contend that Trump has failed to establish a valid legal claim.
According to the filings, the BBC maintains that the Panorama programme was neither broadcast in the United States nor defamatory. It further argues that Trump has not demonstrated any actual damage resulting from the documentary, noting that he went on to win re-election and secured Florida by a wide margin after the programme aired.
The BBC has also disputed Trump’s claim that the documentary was shown on BritBox, stating that this is incorrect. Additionally, the corporation will argue that the president cannot plausibly allege “actual malice,” a key requirement in US defamation cases involving public figures.
The disputed edit involved combining two separate statements from Trump’s January 6 speech. In the Panorama documentary, Trump appeared to say: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” In reality, the remarks were made nearly an hour apart. The BBC has acknowledged that the edit gave a “mistaken impression” that Trump had made a direct call for violent action, but has rejected the claim that this amounts to defamation.
An internal BBC memo leaked in November criticised the handling of the edit and led to the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and Head of News Deborah Turness.
In its latest filing, the BBC has also asked the court to pause all discovery processes pending a decision on the motion to dismiss. If the case proceeds, a trial date as late as 2027 has been proposed.
Melissa Enoch
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