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The BBC has formally asked a U.S. federal judge to dismiss President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, arguing in court filings released on Monday that the president's reelection in 2024 proves the alleged misleading edit caused no lasting harm to his reputation.
The lawsuit, originally filed in a Florida federal court late last year, centers on the BBC's editing of Trump's January 6, 2021, speech in a Panorama documentary (titled something along the lines of "Trump: A Second Chance?"). Trump claims the broadcaster spliced together portions of the speech—most notably around his "fight like hell" remark—to falsely imply he directly incited supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, while omitting his calls for peaceful protest.
In its motion to dismiss, the BBC contends that Trump's successful reelection and return to the presidency demonstrate that voters were not swayed by any reputational damage from the documentary.
Lawyers for the broadcaster argued that he "cannot plausibly claim that the documentary harmed his reputation" given the electoral outcome.