A US judge has rejected the BBC's motion to dismiss Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, allowing the case to proceed to trial. The US president's claim is based on the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on 6 January 2021 in its Panorama documentary.
On Tuesday, US District Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz denied the British broadcaster’s attempt to have the defamation claim dismissed. He did, however, throw out a second claim, which Trump had brought under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Each claim was for at least $5bn (€4.48bn), meaning Kuntz's ruling halves the lawsuit from $10 billion (€8.97bn) to at least $5 billion.
The case centres on a BBC documentary that spliced together two separate parts of the speech. The edit made it appear that Trump had explicitly urged his supporters to attack the US Capitol in Washington. Trump accuses the broadcaster of deceptively editing the programme to make it look as though he was inciting violence.
In his 40-page ruling, Kuntz wrote that whether President Trump can prove his claims and establish damages at summary judgment or trial is left for another day. But he said the gap between the two spliced sections pointed to deliberate distortion. Kuntz wrote that given the time disparity, the distance itself tends toward a plausible inference that the BBC knew or should have known the segment was not a truthful statement, adding that it was not trimming around the edges but creating something different than what was stated.
A BBC spokesperson said they were surprised by the decision but respect the court's authority and note the case will now proceed to the next stage. They added that the network remains confident in its position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process. Trump welcomed the ruling on his Truth Social platform, calling it a huge victory and stating they will continue fighting against those who try to deceive the American people.
The BBC has previously apologised for the edit, which led to the resignation of director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness. However, the broadcaster denies that the programme caused Trump any real harm. The ruling follows a setback for Trump last month, when a magistrate judge ordered him to give a deposition by 11 December after the BBC accused him of avoiding sworn testimony, with the court warning he could face sanctions if he fails to attend.
Source: Euronews. Read the original report ↗