A United States federal judge has allowed President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to move forward, rejecting part of the broadcaster’s request to have the case dismissed.
Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz delivered the ruling on Tuesday, saying Trump had presented sufficient allegations to support his claim that the BBC damaged his reputation through the editing of a speech he delivered before the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
The lawsuit centres on a BBC Panorama documentary titled Trump: A Second Chance, which combined separate portions of Trump’s speech to make it appear as though he had made continuous remarks encouraging supporters to storm the Capitol.
In his decision, Kuntz, who was appointed by Trump, said the president had plausibly established that the documentary could have caused reputational damage, particularly because it was released in the lead-up to an election.
“Accepting the allegations in the complaint as true, the Court finds Trump plausibly pled damages where Trump alleges a defamatory documentary released toward the election caused reputational harm,” the judge wrote.
He added, “It would be difficult for the Court to accept a different framing without completely negating the significance and fragility of political elections.”
The judge also questioned the broadcaster’s decision to combine comments Trump made nearly 55 minutes apart, noting that the BBC had previously apologised for the editing.
According to Kuntz, the way the remarks were presented could support an argument that the broadcaster acted with actual malice.
“On its face, the editing may independently establish the plausibility of actual malice,” he stated.
The BBC had argued that the changes were part of its normal editorial process to shorten a speech lasting about 70 minutes into a 12-second segment. However, the judge rejected that explanation as sufficient justification.
“Editing is often required. However, given the time disparity between the two statements, the distance itself tends toward a plausible inference that BBC knew or should have known that the segment they were creating would not and could not have been a truthful statement. This was not trimming around the edges but creating something different than what was stated in the speech,” he wrote.
Kuntz also referred to previous inaccuracies in the BBC’s reporting about Trump, suggesting that such incidents could help establish whether the broadcaster had acted recklessly.
He said the alleged failures to address false statements about the president could indicate a pattern in the broadcaster’s coverage.
The judge further stated that Trump’s allegations concerning the BBC’s departure from accepted journalistic standards were sufficient to suggest conduct beyond ordinary negligence.
In response to the ruling, the BBC expressed disappointment but said it would respect the court’s decision and continue defending itself through the legal process.
“We are surprised by this decision but respect the Court’s authority and note the case will now proceed to the next stage. We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process,” the broadcaster said.
Trump welcomed the development in a post on his Truth Social platform, describing the ruling as a “huge victory”.
He added, “We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People!”
Despite allowing the defamation claim to proceed, the judge stressed that the ruling did not establish that the BBC was guilty of defamation. Trump must still prove at trial that the broadcaster acted with actual malice, a legal requirement for public figures pursuing defamation claims in the United States.
The court also dismissed Trump’s allegation that the BBC violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Additionally, Kuntz ruled that the president would have to demonstrate that he suffered actual financial or other legally recognised damages as a result of the documentary’s broadcast, which did not air in Florida.
The latest development follows an October ruling by a Florida magistrate judge directing Trump to appear for a deposition by BBC lawyers no later than December 11. The judge warned that failure to comply could result in sanctions
