Lawyers representing U.S. President Donald Trump have opposed a request by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to obtain his financial records as part of an ongoing 10 billion-dollar defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster.
Trump filed the lawsuit in a Florida court over the editing of a 2024 Panorama documentary that examined the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The president alleges that the programme falsely portrayed him as encouraging supporters to storm the Capitol following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and that the broadcast caused significant reputational and financial damage.
As part of its defence, the BBC has sought financial records linked to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which holds many of Trump’s business interests and assets and is managed by his eldest son.
According to court filings, the broadcaster argues that access to the records is necessary to assess the extent of the financial losses Trump claims to have suffered.
The BBC’s legal team rejected suggestions that the request amounted to a “fishing expedition,” maintaining that the information is directly relevant to the damages being sought in the case.
The broadcaster said Trump had alleged that its actions harmed the value of his brand, properties and businesses, making financial records material to the proceedings.
However, lawyers representing the trust described the request as “premature, improper and especially burdensome.”
They argued that claims of business losses did not give the BBC unrestricted access to financial information involving hundreds of entities associated with the trust.
Both parties have asked the court to rule on the dispute.
The matter has become more complicated after Trump’s legal team requested a delay pending the outcome of a motion seeking the reassignment of the case to a different judge.
The lawyers contended that the current magistrate judge’s previous legal representation of a client with interests adverse to Trump created an appearance of impropriety.
The BBC has opposed the request.
The lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary aired before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, which critics argued gave viewers the impression that Trump had directly encouraged violence during the Capitol riot.
The controversy prompted significant fallout within the broadcaster.
The then Director-General of the BBC, Tim Davie, announced his resignation following the dispute, while BBC Chairman Samir Shah apologised for what he described as an “error of judgment” in the editing of the programme.
Despite the apology, the BBC is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed.
The broadcaster argues that allowing the case to proceed could have a chilling effect on robust reporting involving public figures and major public events.
It has also challenged whether a Florida court has jurisdiction over the matter, noting that the programme was neither broadcast in Florida nor aired anywhere in the United States.
The case remains before the court.
