BBC argues Trump failed to prove defamation

Donald Trump has sued the BBC for US$5 billion, claiming defamation over an edited January 6 speech. Photo / Getty Images

US President Donald Trump failed to show the BBC defamed him in its edit of his January 6 speech, the broadcaster said in its argument for his lawsuit to be thrown out.

Trump sued the BBC in December seeking US$5 billion ($8.38b) in damages for defamation after The Daily Telegraph revealed a Panorama documentary had edited the speech he gave to his supporters before they stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6, 2021.

In his legal complaint filed in Miami’s court for the Southern District of Florida, the president described the programme as a “brazen attempt” to influence the outcome of the presidential election between Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate.

Trump is seeking a further US$5b in damages from the BBC over claims the programme violated the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

In a filing in the Miami court this week, the BBC said that it intends to ask the judge to dismiss the president’s case.

The BBC will argue that the court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the case “as well as arguments regarding plaintiff’s failure to state a claim for defamation or for violations” of the unfair trade practices law, the filing states.

An internal BBC whistleblower memo obtained by the Telegraph last year said the broadcaster “completely misled” viewers during its programme entitled: Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast a week before the US election in 2024.

The programme spliced together footage from the start of his speech to appear alongside something he said nearly an hour later, making it appear as if Trump told supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to “fight like hell”, when in fact he said he would walk with them “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard”.

The 19-page whistleblower memo on BBC bias included allegations that senior executives and the BBC’s chairman had ignored and dismissed a string of serious complaints raised by the corporation’s own standards watchdog.

When the issue was raised with managers, they “refused to accept there had been a breach of standards”. The dossier’s author then warned Samir Shah, the BBC chairman, of the “very, very dangerous precedent” set by Panorama but received no reply.

After the Telegraph revealed the contents of the memo in November, the story prompted concern about the impartiality of the broadcaster.

Nigel Huddleston, the Shadow Culture Secretary, told the Telegraph at the time that the memo could “seriously undermine the brand and reputation of the BBC”.

Tim Davie, the broadcaster’s director-general, and Deborah Turness, the news chief executive, resigned a week later.

“Where mistakes are made, they do need to get their house in order, and the BBC must uphold the highest standards, be accountable and correct errors quickly,” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in the House of Commons in November. “But I will always stand up for a strong, independent BBC.”

Lawyers for Trump have not yet commented on the BBC’s filing. The broadcaster has until March 17 to respond formally to Trump’s complaint. A trial has been scheduled for February next year.

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