US President Donald Trump faces major setback in defamation case against BBC.
According to The Guardian, a federal judge on Tuesday, July 21, ruled that Trump must divulge detailed financial information from his many businesses as part of his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The ruling by US magistrate judge Enjoliqué Lett could open a unique window into the hundreds of businesses owned by Trump’s family trust.
It also highlights a potential drawback for Trump’s strategy of bludgeoning critical media with multibillion-dollar lawsuits.
Trump filed a defamation lawsuit late last year seeking $10bn in damages over a 2024 documentary called “Trump, A Second Chance,” which features a scene of the speech he made before his supporters attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
The scene splices lines together to make it appear that Trump directly urged his supporters to attack.
The BBC apologized to Trump last year for the misleading edit, but has argued the president’s defamation claims have no merit.
Lett is also allowing the BBC to subpoena dozens of members of Trump’s inner circle, according to Bloomberg News, in an effort to find evidence of the president’s thoughts and intentions on January 6.
Those subpoenas will target Trump family members and key advisers, including Donald Trump Jr, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.
As per Politico Trump’s lawyers are also trying to dodge the forced release of his financial records by limiting the scope of the lawsuit. Alejandro Brito, a Trump lawyer, told Lett on Tuesday that he intends to amend the current complaint.
The amended complaint will say the documentary only caused reputational damage, rather than undermining his businesses, making the financial disclosures unnecessary.
