BBC News to File Motion to Throw Out Trump’s $5-B Defamation Lawsuit

The BBC will file a motion to dismiss Donald Trump’s lawsuit over how his Jan. 6, 2021, speech was edited in a Panorama documentary, Yang Tian reported for BBC News.

The disputed clip is about 15 seconds long in an hour-long program containing extensive coverage of Trump and his supporters. (Photo: Alexander Svensson, Wikimedia Commons)

The US president filed a $5-billion (£3.7-billion) lawsuit in a Florida court last month, accusing the BBC of defamation and violating a trade practices law.

Court papers filed Monday show the broadcaster will argue that the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” over the BBC, that the venue is “improper,” and that Trump has “failed to state a claim.”

The BBC apologized to Trump over the edit but rejected his demands for compensation, saying there was no basis for a defamation claim.

The corporation said the Panorama program was not aired in the United States and did not defame Trump. It will argue that Trump has not demonstrated the documentary caused him any actual damage.

Trump claims the documentary aired on BritBox, which the BBC said is false. The broadcaster will also argue Trump cannot allege the documentary was published with “actual malice.”

The disputed clip is about 15 seconds long in an hour-long program containing extensive coverage of Trump and his supporters.

During Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, before the riot at the US Capitol, he told a crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

More than 50 minutes later, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.” In the Panorama program, a clip showed him saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”