A US federal judge denied a motion Tuesday to dismiss President Trump’s defamation case against the BBC, allowing the case to proceed. In December 2025, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation, the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster, over a documentary that featured edited portions of the speech he gave on January 6, 2021, as his supporters rallied around the US Capitol in what would become an assault on the heart of the government. In the Southern District of Florida, Trump’s lawyers accuse the BBC of publishing a “false, defamatory, misleading, derogatory, inflammatory and malicious depiction” of him in an episode of the network’s “Panorama” program, which aired a week before the 2024 election. The case alleges that the BBC “intentionally and maliciously sought to completely deceive its viewers” by “splitting together” two clips of the same speech Trump gave to his supporters earlier. riots began. The president’s legal team claims that the two clips were 55 minutes apart and that the editing omitted “his statement calling for peace.” President Trump speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president, January 6, 2021, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP On Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey Kuntz denied the BBC’s motion to dismiss the defamation case, effectively allowing it to proceed. “Whether President Trump can prove these claims and establish that he suffered harm on summary judgment or at trial is left for another day,” Kuntz wrote in his decision. Trump hailed the decision as “a huge victory against the BBC’s fake news, a terrible abuser of the truth,” in a post on his Truth Social platform. A BBC spokesman, quoted by the broadcaster’s news division, said: “We are surprised by this decision, but we respect the authority of the Court and note that the case will now move to the next stage.” “We remain confident in our position and will continue to respond through the appropriate legal process,” the spokesperson added. On Oct. 22, a federal judge in Miami said Trump must appear for a deposition before BBC lawyers by Dec. 11, warning that if he did not do so, he could face sanctions, including possible dismissal of the lawsuit, unless the deadline for the president and the network to gather information about the case is extended. Trump was due to appear for a deposition in October, but his lawyers told the BBC in late September that he would no longer be available to answer questions “due to other matters of national importance.” The president has said he will be available for testimony in the second or third week of January, according to the BBC. In November 2025, the BBC apologized to the president for the editing of his speech as it appeared in the documentary. “BBC Chairman Samir Shah separately sent a personal letter to the White House making it clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation regret the editing of the President’s speech of 6 January 2021, which appeared on the programme,” the BBC Press Office said in its statement at the time. “While the BBC sincerely regrets the way the video was edited, we do not agree that there is a basis for a defamation claim,” the press office added. Melissa Quinn contributed to this report. Assault on the US Capitol Go deeper with The Free Press In:
