Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion over a 12-second clip. Now a judge reveals how the network allegedly edited the footage to create a fake statement

A federal judge declined to dismiss the defamation claim filed by President Trump against the BBC, Deadline reports. The case involves a $10 billion lawsuit centered on a twelve-second video clip featured in a documentary about January 6. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz ruled that the legal action can move forward, as the President has sufficiently pleaded actual malice regarding how the network presented his words.

The documentary, titled Trump: A Second Chance?, contains a sequence where the President says, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” According to the legal filing, this segment is a combination of two different parts of a speech that were separated by fifty-five minutes. Judge Kuntz noted in his ruling that the BBC confirmed it edited the video to make it appear as though the President made a statement he never actually said.

The timing of the release also plays a significant role in the ongoing legal battle. The judge noted that the BBC chose to release the documentary just one week before the 2024 Presidential Election. This was a period when the content would have the most impact. The court also identified that the BBC reached out to U.S. and Florida-based commenters with instructions on how to view the documentary to ensure it reached an audience in Florida.

The President described the court decision as a huge victory

While the defamation claim remains, the judge did dismiss the portion of the lawsuit that alleged a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The BBC previously argued that the court lacked personal jurisdiction because the documentary did not air in Florida. Judge Kuntz rejected this, stating that it seems disingenuous for the network to argue they could not have anticipated being taken to court in Florida when the President is a resident of the state and portions of the film were recorded there.

Trump expressed his thoughts on Truth Social, stating, “We will continue fighting against, and defeating, all of those who try to deceive the American People!” He also referred to the BBC as a “terrible abuser of truth.”

The production of the documentary was handled by October Films. There are allegations that the content was streamed on iPlayer by hundreds of individuals in the U.S. using a VPN, even though the footage was geoblocked in America. In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the edited speech, BBC director general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, who led the news division, stepped down. The network issued an apology and characterized the situation as an error of judgment, though they did not offer to pay any damages.

A spokesperson for the BBC stated, “We are surprised by this decision but respect the Court’s authority and note the case will now proceed to the next stage.” The network also mentioned, “We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the proper legal process. It would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing.”

Judge Kuntz, who was nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate earlier this year, clarified that the current ruling does not determine the final outcome. He wrote, “Whether President Trump can prove these claims and establish he sustained damages at summary judgment or trial is left for another day.”