BBC seeks dismissal of $10bn Trump lawsuit over Panorama 'fight like hell' clip
Source: The Guardian
Tue 13 Jan 2026 02.52 EST
First published on Tue 13 Jan 2026 00.10 EST
The BBC is to attempt to have Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit over the editing of a speech for Panorama thrown out, according to court documents. The broadcaster faced criticism for airing an episode of the investigative documentary series that featured an edited clip of Trump’s address to a rally on 6 January 2021, which it is alleged gave the impression he encouraged supporters to storm the Capitol building in Washington DC.
The spliced clips in the edition of Panorama suggested that 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 words were taken from sections of his speech almost an hour apart.
The BBC will file a motion to dismiss, claiming the Florida court lacks “personal jurisdiction” over them, the court venue is “improper” and that Trump has “failed to state a claim”, documents filed on Monday revealed. The corporation will argue that it did not create, produce or broadcast the documentary in Florida and that Trump’s claim that the documentary was available in the US on the streaming service BritBox is untrue.
“Simply clicking on the link that plaintiff cites for this point shows it is not on BritBox,” the broadcaster’s lawyers said in court documents. The BBC will also claim the president has failed to “plausibly allege” it published the documentary with “actual malice”, which public officials are required to show when filing suit for defamation in the US.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jan/13/bbc-seeks-dismissal-of-10bn-trump-lawsuit-over-panorama-fight-like-hell-clip
REFERENCES
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143582979
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143583312
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