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By Marni Rose McFall
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Attorneys for President Donald Trump have said that the BBC is trying to turn the president’s defamation lawsuit against the corporation into a trial on the events of January 6, in a new legal filing where they argue that the BBC’s request for documents under discoveries is too broad.
Lawyers for the president wrote in a filing, reviewed by Newsweek: "Defendants are attempting to use this action as a vehicle to conduct a trial as to the events that occurred on January 6th."
The filing states that the "defendants have engaged in excessive and impermissibly broad discovery efforts in such a manner that it distracts from the core issues in dispute in this case."
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The filing states that the BBC had requested through discovery a number of documents, including Trump’s telephone logs, calendars, schedules and daily diaries from November 3, 2020 to January 20, 2021.
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The lawsuit stems from a BBC Panorama program titled Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast before the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
In the episode, footage was spliced together of a speech given by Trump from January 6, 2021, which gave the impression he had urged supporters to march with him and "fight like hell" before they attacked the U.S. Capitol.
When contacted for comment, the BBC directed Newsweek to a statement issued in March, which read: "We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us. Put simply - the documentary was never aired in Florida - or the US. It wasn't available to watch in the US on iPlayer, online or any other streaming platforms including BritBox and BBC Select. We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the President's claim."
President Donald Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Explained
Filed in Florida in December, 2025, Trump’s lawsuit stated that the BBC violated a state law, which prohibits deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The president is seeking substantial damages of at least $5 billion from the publicly funded company.
The BBC has apologized to Trump for the edit. In a statement given last November, it said: "We accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action."
However, it is actively seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed and has disagreed that there is a basis for a defamation claim.
In court papers released in March, the broadcaster argued that Trump’s subsequent re-election demonstrated that the alleged defamation had not harmed his public reputation.
The BBC has formally subpoenaed the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust in a bid to ascertain the financial impact of the alleged defamation. That trust, managed by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., holds Trump's business interests and assets.
What This Latest Legal Filing Says
The legal filing states that the case is "about Defendants distortion of Plaintiff’s own words."
It states that the "Defendants are attempting to use this action as a vehicle to conduct a trial as to the events that occurred on January 6th."
The filing also states, "Defendants are attempting to distort the allegations in the Complaint in order to unnecessarily expand the scope of discovery into a sweeping inquiry into January 6th," and "post-election challenges," and that this would "increase the cost of litigation."
It describes the discovery requests as being "drastically far afield from the issues in this action."
The BBC has requested documents related to Trump’s actions and communications surrounding January 6, including materials shared with government investigators, phone logs, calendars and diaries from November 2020 to January 2021.
Documents have also been requested regarding the "Stop the Steal" rally and Trump’s communications with key advisers, including Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Rudy Giuliani.
What Happens Next
This most recent filing concludes with a request that a hearing be scheduled to resolve the dispute on discovery.
The lawsuit is currently set to go to trial in February of 2027.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon and Tony Phillips
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