A US judge said Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC will go to court in 2027
LONDON (AP) — President Donald Trump $10 billion lawsuit A US judge said the defendants against the BBC could go to trial in 2027.
Judge Roy K. refused. Altman of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida called an attempt by the BBC to delay the proceedings.
He set a tentative trial start date of February 15, 2027 for two weeks. The court order for Altman was issued on Wednesday.
Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way the BBC edited a speech he gave on January 6, 2021. The suit seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion in unfair trade 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 last month said the BBC plans to file a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction because the program did not air in Florida, and that Trump failed to state a claim.
Before that motion, she asked 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.
The judge said the motion was “premature” because it was too early in the legal process for the BBC to request such a stay.
The BBC said: “We will defend this case. We will not comment further on the ongoing legal proceedings.”
