Trump seeks pause in $10B defamation lawsuit against BBC

The president is resisting the exposure of financial documents related to “400 entities” tied to a trust.MIAMI (CN) — Attorneys for President Donald Trump scrambled to prevent disclosure of his assets on Wednesday as part of his ongoing $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation.Two weeks ago, U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Trump’s attorneys to turn over financial information from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust as part of a discovery request by the BBC. The trust contains at least 400 business entities, according to court documents, and the order seeks all tax returns, property listings and any other assets.Lett set a Thursday deadline.“The BBC’s motive could not be more transparent — to wrongly exploit this litigation for its own political benefit, as well as that of President Trump’s other political opponents,” wrote Alejandro Brito, head of Trump’s legal team, in an appeal to the judge.“Rather than seek discovery tethered to the narrow defamation claim and particularized evidence bearing on liability and damages, the BBC has sought to turn this case into a sweeping investigation of January 6, President Trump’s political activity, and the complete financial affairs of the trust and hundreds of separate entities.”The president is asking the judge to set aside the order and dismiss the BBC’s subpoena, or narrow it to include only specific entities, dates and financial statements.Charles Tobin, attorney for the BBC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Trump filed the defamation lawsuit in Miami federal court last year over a documentary aired by the BBC that included an edited portion of a speech he gave before the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, that appeared to show the president directing supporters to attack.Trump claimed the documentary, which aired a week before the 2024 presidential election, attempted to “interfere in and influence the election’s outcome to President Trump’s detriment.”BBC Chairman Samir Shah sent an apology to Trump shortly after the documentary’s release, admitting the clip was an “error of judgment.” Trump nevertheless sued the news outlet, seeking $10 billion in damages.In March, the BBC asked the Miami federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing Trump did not suffer any injury because he still won the presidential election.“Given the many allegations prior to the documentary’s release regarding plaintiff’s Jan. 6 speech — and that shortly after its release, the president won reelection and carried Florida by a wide margin — plaintiff cannot plausibly claim that the documentary harmed his reputation,” BBC attorneys wrote in the motion. “Indeed, the documentary was prescient in accurately describing the loyalty plaintiff enjoys among his supporters, and that led to his return to the White House.”The media company also pointed out the documentary never aired in the United States, so it says the Florida court lacks jurisdiction.After the president missed a deadline to dismiss the case, the BBC filed a flurry of discovery requests rebuffed by Trump’s attorneys as overbroad.In a July ruling, Lett pushed back.“The trust argues production of its private financial, ownership, income, tax, contractual and asset information is overbroad, but the court harkens back to the complaint, which asserts plaintiff incurred damages to his ‘brand, properties, and businesses’, a broad array of damages,” the judge wrote.“Considering the trust’s relationship to plaintiff’s alleged damages, the information the trust possesses is relevant and material to any damages analysis defendant may elect to conduct,” she continued. “Defendant’s damage analysis is especially important to defendant where plaintiff now alleges $10 billion in damages.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads