US judge rejects BBC bid to dismiss Trump defamation case

Résumé détaillé

A federal judge has allowed US President Donald Trump's multi-billion dollar defamation suit against the BBC to proceed, rejecting a bid by the British broadcaster to dismiss the…

A federal judge has allowed US President Donald Trump's multi-billion dollar defamation suit against the BBC to proceed, rejecting a bid by the British broadcaster to dismiss the case.

Mr Trump has accused the BBC of deceptively editing a documentary to make it seem as if he was inciting violence when he told supporters to march on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021.

He has sought at least $5 billion (€4.44bn) each for one claim of defamation and a separate claim under a Florida consumer protection law.

US District Judge Jeffrey T Kuntz rejected the BBC's bid to dismiss the defamation suit.

"Whether President Trump can prove these claims and establish he sustained damages at summary judgment or trial is left for another day," Mr Kuntz wrote in a 40-page ruling.

The BBC documentary at issue spliced together two separate sections of Mr Trump's speech on 6 January 2021, making it appear that he had explicitly urged supporters to attack the US Capitol.

While the BBC has apologised for the incident, which prompted the resignation of multiple senior executives, the broadcaster has denied it caused Mr Trump any real injury.

"Given the time disparity between the two statements, the distance itself tends toward a plausible inference that BBC knew or should have known that the segment they were creating would not and could not have been a truthful statement," Mr Kuntz said in his ruling.

"This was not trimming around the edges but creating something different than what was stated in the speech."

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