The BBC is asking the court to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over his January 6 speech

LONDON (AP) — The BBC plans to ask a court to throw out US President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, court papers show.

Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on January 6, 2021. The lawsuit filed in a federal court in Florida seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion in unfair business practices.

The speech came before some Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claimed was stolen from him.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had broadcast the documentary entitled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — days before the 2024 US presidential election. He combined three quotes from two sections of a 2021 speech, delivered about an hour apart, into what appears to be a single quote in which Trump urged his supporters to go with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts that were cut was a section in which Trump said he wanted his supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The broadcaster apologized to Trump for editing his speech on January 6. But the publicly funded BBC rejects claims that it defames him. This uproar led to the resignation of the CEO of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and its head of news.

Papers filed Monday in the US District Court in Miami say the BBC will file a motion to dismiss the case on March 17 on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction and that Trump failed to state a claim.

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The broadcaster’s lawyers will argue that the BBC did not create, produce or broadcast the documentary in Florida, and that Trump’s claim that the documentary was available in the US on the streaming service BritBox is incorrect.

It will also argue that Trump failed to “plausibly allege” that the BBC acted maliciously in broadcasting the documentary.

Lawyer Charles Tobin told the BBC that Trump cannot prove actual damages because he won re-election by a large margin, and won Florida by 13 points, which is better than his performance in 2016 and 2020. He said the documentary could not harm his reputation because it aired after a federal grand jury indicted Trump over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including allegations that he “directed the crowd in front of him to go to the Capitol.”

The BBC is asking the court to postpone discovery — the pre-trial process in which parties must turn over documents and other information — pending a decision on the motion to dismiss. The discovery process could require the BBC to hand over large amounts of emails and other material related to its coverage of Trump.

“Engaging in unlimited merits-based discovery while awaiting a motion to dismiss would expose defendants to significant burdens and costs that would not be necessary if the motion were granted,” Tobin wrote.

If the case proceeds, a trial date has been proposed in 2027.

“As we have previously made clear, we will defend this case,” the BBC said on Tuesday in a statement. “We will not be commenting further on the ongoing legal proceedings.”