Trump Lawyers Make Stunning Refusal in $10B Court Battle
Donald Trump’s lawyers are refusing to hand over any financial information about the president as part of his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC.
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Trump is suing the publicly funded British broadcaster, claiming it defamed him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” editing two parts of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech to make it seem as though he had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol.
The complaint focuses on a segment of the BBC’s Panorama program, which spliced together Trump saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol” and “fight like hell, if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore,” despite the two remarks actually being made nearly an hour apart.
Even though the president is seeking $10 billion in damages over claims that the BBC program damaged “the value of his brand, properties and businesses,” Trump’s lawyers have not handed over any documents to prove it, the Financial Times reported.
As part of the discovery process, the BBC subpoenaed the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which holds the president’s business interests and assets, in order to determine the financial impact of the Panorama documentary, which first aired in October 2024.
Court filings from the trust’s legal team, which also represents Trump in the suit, said it had made “multiple objections” to requests for financial documents, accusing the BBC of carrying out a “fishing expedition” and arguing “that, as a non-party, it need not substantively respond.”
Trump’s legal team also said the 30-day timeline sought by the BBC to produce “tens of thousands of documents from hundreds of non-parties” was “unreasonable” and “improper,” according to the filing seen by the Financial Times.
The BBC said there “appears to be a flat refusal” by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust—which is managed by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.—to provide any “financial information under subpoena,” despite arguing that the BBC damaged “the value of his brand, properties, and businesses.”
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According to the FT, Trump has not turned over any documentation as part of his $10 billion lawsuit, whereas the BBC has produced more than 45,000 documents during discovery.
The BBC has apologized to Trump for the editing of the Panorama documentary but has called for the suit to be dismissed. The broadcaster’s legal team argued that, because Trump won the 2024 election soon after the program aired, he “cannot plausibly claim that the documentary harmed his reputation.”
In previous court submissions, the BBC noted that more than 100 defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot told courts that they interpreted Trump’s speech as a “call to action.”
In a statement to the FT, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the BBC must be held liable for “intentionally and maliciously defaming” the president by “distorting and manipulating his speech.”
“No amount of attempted legal maneuvers can change that fact,” the spokesperson added. “President Trump will continue to hold accountable the BBC and all those who traffic in fake news.”
The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in February 2027 if the BBC’s motion to dismiss is unsuccessful.
The Daily Beast has contacted Trump’s legal team and the BBC’s legal team for comment.
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