Judge declines to throw out Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida ruled that Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC can proceed, rejecting the broadcaster's motion to dismiss the defamation claim but dismissing an unfair trade practices claim. Trump alleges the BBC edited a January 6, 2021 speech to falsely suggest he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol.

A federal judge in Florida ruled on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC can proceed, declining to throw out the defamation claim but dismissing a separate unfair trade practices claim. Trump is suing the British public broadcaster over edited clips of a speech that made it appear he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. US District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz said Trump had plausibly alleged that the BBC damaged his reputation and knew or should have known the clip was misleading, though the ruling did not decide whether Trump has proven those claims. Trump called the ruling a "huge victory" in a social media post. A BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster was surprised by the decision but respects the court's authority and remains confident in its position. The BBC has previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump, though it denies liability for defamation. The lawsuit, filed in December in Florida federal court, accuses the BBC of splicing together parts of the speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol and another where he said "fight like hell," while omitting a section in which he called for peaceful protest. The edited speech appeared in a BBC "Panorama" documentary shortly before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won. A leaked internal BBC memo cited the edits as evidence of potential political bias, sparking a public relations crisis for the broadcaster and leading to high-level resignations.