A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over a misleadingly edited excerpt of a speech can move forward, but dismissed Trump’s accusation of unfair business practices against the broadcaster.
Trump is suing the state-funded British broadcaster for at least $10 billion over edited excerpts of a speech that made it appear he ordered his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The case is one of several cases Trump has filed against the news media as part of a broader pressure campaign against coverage he doesn’t like.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz in Florida refused to dismiss Trump’s defamation suit against the BBC, saying Trump had plausibly alleged that the network damaged his reputation and that it knew or should have known the clip was misleading. Kuntz’s ruling did not determine whether Trump had proven these claims.
Trump called the decision a “big victory” on social media. “We will continue to fight and defeat all those who attempt to deceive the American people!” » he wrote.
A BBC spokesperson said the channel was surprised by the decision, but respected the court’s authority and remained confident in its position.
The BBC previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump, although it denies liability for defamation.
Trump’s lawsuit, filed in December in federal court in Florida, accuses the BBC of defaming him by splicing together parts of the speech, including a section where he told his supporters to march on the Capitol and another where he said, “Fight like hell.” He omitted a section in which he called for peaceful protests.
The edited speech appeared on a BBC documentary program “Panorama” 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.
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