A U.S. federal judge denied a motion to dismiss on Tuesday, allowing President Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation to proceed. The ruling keeps the high-profile legal battle alive as it moves toward the next stages of litigation.
The case originated in December 2025 when Trump filed suit against the U.K.'s public broadcaster. The dispute centers on a documentary that featured edited segments of the speech Trump delivered on January 6, 2021, as his supporters gathered around the U.S. Capitol.
Attorneys for the president accuse the BBC of presenting a false, defamatory, and malicious depiction of their client in an episode of the Panorama program. This episode aired just one week before the 2024 election. The legal team argues that the network intentionally misled viewers by splicing together two clips from the same speech that were actually 55 minutes apart.
The lawsuit further claims that the editing process omitted a specific statement in which Trump called for peace. Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, who issued the decision, noted that whether Trump can ultimately prove these claims and establish damages will be determined during summary judgment or at trial.
President Trump celebrated the ruling on his Truth Social platform, describing it as a huge victory against the Fake News BBC, which he called a terrible abuser of the truth.
In response, a BBC spokesperson expressed surprise at the decision but stated that the corporation respects the court's authority. The spokesperson added that the BBC remains confident in its position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process as the case proceeds.
Procedural tensions have already emerged in the case. On October 22, a federal judge in Miami ordered the BBC's lawyers to respond to discovery requests by December 11. The judge warned that failure to comply could result in penalties, including the possible dismissal of the lawsuit, unless the discovery period is extended.
Additionally, Trump was originally scheduled to sit for a deposition in October. However, his lawyers informed the BBC in late September that he would no longer be available to answer questions due to other matters of national importance. According to the BBC, the president has indicated he will be available for the deposition during the second or third week of January.
In November 2025, the BBC issued a public statement apologizing to the president regarding the editing of his speech in the documentary. BBC Chair Samir Shah also sent a personal letter to the White House expressing the corporation's regret over the edit.
While the BBC Press Office stated that the corporation sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, it maintained that it strongly disagrees with the existence of a valid basis for a defamation claim.
