BBC to ask US court to throw out Trump's $10bn lawsuit over ‘fight like hell' edit: Here's why
Trump had slapped a $10 billion lawsuit against BBC, claiming that the broadcaster ‘put words in his mouth’ by splicing together separate portions of his speech in a Panorama documentary examining the Capitol riots
US President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC is back in the spotlight as the UK's national public broadcaster seeks dismissal of the case over Panorama ‘fight like hell’ edit. From allegations of an ‘improper court venue’ to Trump ‘failing to state a claim,’ the BBC will file a motion to have the case thrown out, as per reports.
Trump had accused the British broadcaster of defamation over edited clips of a speech that appeared to show him directing supporters to storm the US Capitol during his 6 January 2021 speech.
The spliced clips suggested that Trump told the crowd: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.” The words were taken from sections of his speech almost an hour apart.
What Trump claimed?
The POTUS alleged that the BBC “put words in my(his) mouth” by splicing together separate portions of his speech in a Panorama documentary examining the Capitol riots. The lawsuit marked a dramatic escalation in a dispute that further saw the resignations of Tim Davie – BBC’s former director general, and Deborah Turness, who was the head of BBC News.
Trump claimed that BBC “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively” edited the 6 January speech he gave before the attack on the US Capitol.
How BBC will attempt to have the case thrown out?
According to a report by AP, papers filed Monday, 12 January, with Florida's Southern District say the BBC will file a motion to dismiss the case, arguing the following:
- Lack of jurisdiction: The BBC will ask the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the Florida court does not have ‘personal jurisdiction’ over the broadcaster and that the venue is ‘improper’
- No valid legal claim: The UK broadcaster will also contend that Donald Trump has failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted.
- Documentary not linked to Florida: The BBC will argue that it did not create, produce, or broadcast the documentary in Florida, undermining the basis for the lawsuit being filed in the state.
- ‘Britbox claims'- Trump has claimed the documentary was available in the US on the streaming service BritBox. The BBC says this is incorrect. “Simply clicking on the link that plaintiff cites for this point shows it is not on BritBox,” the broadcaster’s lawyers said in court filings.
- No ‘actual malice’- The BBC will also argue that Trump has not plausibly alleged the documentary was published with “actual malice” — a key legal standard public officials are required to meet in US defamation cases.
The broadcaster has also requested the court “to stay all other discovery” – the pre-trial process in which parties gather information – pending the decision on the motion.