BBC moves to dismiss Trump’s US$10 billion lawsuit over Capitol riot documentary
Lawyers for the broadcaster will argue the Florida court lacks jurisdiction and Trump’s 2024 election win proves he suffered no professional harm
The BBC intends to ask a US federal court in Florida to dismiss a US$10 billion lawsuit brought by US President Donald Trump against the British broadcaster, according to newly filed court documents.
Trump launched the lawsuit last year over a BBC documentary that edited his 2021 speech ahead of the US Capitol riot, when lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
The programme spliced together two separate sections of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, in a way that made it appear that he had explicitly urged supporters to attack the Capitol.
Trump is seeking “damages in an amount not less than US$5,000,000,000” for each of two counts against the BBC, for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
But in papers filed in federal court in Miami on Monday and seen by Agence France-Presse, lawyers for the British broadcaster said they would “move to dismiss the complaint” due to the court lacking “personal jurisdiction”.
They will argue Trump “will not be able to prove” that the documentary, which aired before the 2024 election but not in the United States, “caused him any cognisable injury”.
