A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump must hand over detailed financial information as part of his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, despite his lawyer’s efforts to prevent the information from being revealed in court.
The president sued the publicly funded British broadcaster in December, claiming it had defamed him by “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively” editing two parts of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech to make it seem as though he had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol.
The complaint claims the editing damaged the value of Trump’s brand, properties, and businesses,” but his lawyers have objected to subpoenas seeking information about the business interests and assets held in the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ruled on Tuesday that given that business damages were alleged in the complaint, the BBC was entitled to demand information about Trump’s businesses, Politico reported.
“All of President Trump’s brand, properties, and businesses are impugned or said to have been impugned,” Lett said at the end of a hearing. “Reputational, economic damages—all of that is now at issue in this case.”
The ruling allows the BBC to explore the finances of more than 400 companies owned by a Trump family trust, unless the ruling is blocked by an appellate judge, according to Politico.
If the decision stands, a lawsuit that started as an attempt to generate headlines and pressure the media into adopting his preferred narrative could ultimately backfire by giving the press access to information the president preferred to keep secret, Politico reported.
The broadcaster’s strategy is clearly designed to make it more painful for the president to continue the case, according to the outlet.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that the financial disclosures weren’t relevant because the case had “evolved” to only focus on reputational damage, not business damages.
A lawyer for the BBC, however, argued the two things were inseparable since Trump has always portrayed himself as a master dealmaker when running for office or governing.
The attorney, Chuck Tobin, also hammered Trump’s team for refusing to schedule a deposition with the president, which would be unavoidable if the suit continues.
Lett concluded that she didn’t have the power to drop the business allegations from the complaint.
Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito declined to comment to Politico on the ruling.
Reached for comment by the Daily Beast, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the president’s “powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”
The suit centers on a segment of BBC’s Panorama program, which spliced together Trump saying, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol,” and, “Fight like hell. If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore.”
The two remarks were made about an hour apart.
The BBC has apologized to Trump for the editing of the Panorama documentary but has called for the suit to be dismissed. The broadcaster’s legal team argued that, because Trump won the 2024 election soon after the program aired, he “cannot plausibly claim that the documentary harmed his reputation.”
In previous court submissions, the BBC noted that more than 100 defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot told courts that they interpreted Trump’s speech as a “call to action.”
The broadcaster has moved to dismiss the suit, arguing the court doesn’t have jurisdiction over the case because Panorama doesn’t broadcast in the U.S.
