Donald Trump's legal team has rejected a request by the BBC to disclose financial information as part of his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. The US president's lawyers accused the BBC of a 'fishing expedition' after it sought evidence to support Trump's claims of reputational and financial harm from a Panorama documentary about the US Capitol riots.
The BBC had asked for financial papers on the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, which holds Trump's business interests, including records of income, assets and properties. Trump's Florida-based lawyers, Brito PLLC, called the request 'disproportionate' and said it covered entities with 'no connection to the issues in dispute'. They argued that producing tens of thousands of documents within 30 days was 'unreasonable' and 'improper'.
The lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary broadcast in October 2024, which spliced together two parts of a speech Trump gave on 6 January 2021. The clip suggested Trump told the crowd: 'We're going to walk down to the Capitol and I'll be there with you, and we fight. We fight like hell.' The BBC later retracted the clip and apologised, saying it would not be shown again.
Trump's lawyers have argued the documentary caused 'direct harm' to his 'brand, properties and business'. However, the BBC has asked a US court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing it would have a 'chilling effect' on reporting and that the court lacks jurisdiction as the programme was not broadcast in the US or Florida. The dismissal claim is ongoing.
Court filings in May showed Trump's legal team had made 503 requests for documents, and the BBC had turned over 45,000 pages. Trump had produced none. The Financial Times reported that Trump's team had attempted to delay the case and requested a change of judge.
