US President Donald Trump has scored a legal victory after a Florida judge rejected the BBC’s attempt to have his US$10 billion (approximately £7.6 billion) defamation lawsuit dismissed.
Trump celebrated the decision on Tuesday, branding it a “huge victory against Fake News BBC” as his legal battle with the British broadcaster moves into its next stage.
The case centres on a controversial edit of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech, delivered shortly before his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
The 80-year-old president accuses the BBC of deliberately manipulating his remarks in a Panorama documentary to make it appear that he had directly encouraged supporters to attack the Capitol.
The programme, broadcast shortly before the 2024 US presidential election, combined two separate sections of his speech.
In one part, Trump said: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol…and I’ll be there with you.”
The BBC then joined that statement with another remark delivered almost an hour later, when he said: “And we fight, we fight like hell.”
Trump argues that the editing created a misleading impression that he had instructed his supporters to storm the building.
On Tuesday, US District Judge Jeffrey T Kuntz rejected the BBC’s bid to dismiss the defamation claim, although he threw out Trump’s separate allegation that the broadcaster had violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
In his ruling, Kuntz said the editing could potentially support Trump’s argument that the BBC acted with actual malice.
“The Court is not persuaded,” he wrote, rejecting the broadcaster’s argument that the footage was simply shortened to condense a 70-minute speech into a 12-second segment.
He added that the significant gap between the two statements raised questions about whether the BBC knew, or should have known, that the resulting clip was misleading.
“This was not trimming around the edges but creating something different than what was stated in the speech,” the judge said.
However, the ruling does not establish that the BBC defamed Trump or that he is entitled to compensation.
“Whether President Trump can prove these claims and establish he sustained damages at summary judgment or trial is left for another day,” Kuntz said.
Trump responded to the decision on his Truth Social platform, writing: “A Huge Victory against Fake News BBC, a terrible abuser of the truth, just handed down by highly respected District Court Judge, Jeffrey T. Kuntz, of the Southern District of Florida.”
He added: “We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People!”
The BBC had previously apologised to Trump over the editing error but maintained that it did not amount to defamation.
Following the latest ruling, the broadcaster said it was surprised by the decision but respected the court’s authority.
“We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process,” it said.
The legal battle is also set to involve questions over Trump’s financial records and the damages he claims to have suffered.
Last month, a Florida magistrate judge ordered Trump to answer questions under oath by December 11, warning that his failure to do so could put his lawsuit at risk of dismissal.
Trump had previously cancelled a scheduled deposition on October 16, citing “matters of national importance” while campaigning in Georgia.
A deposition is a formal out-of-court questioning session in which a person gives evidence under oath.
The BBC has also sought access to Trump’s tax and financial records, arguing that they are necessary to assess his claim that the broadcaster caused “direct harm to his professional and occupational interests”.
Its lawyers argued in March that Trump had placed his financial circumstances at issue by filing the lawsuit.
The broadcaster is seeking records relating to his extensive property and media interests, including businesses in the US, Bali, Hungary, Vietnam, Ireland and the UK.
A judge approved the request in July, but another judge subsequently granted an emergency application by Trump’s lawyers to temporarily halt the disclosure.
