Miami, Florida — A federal judge in Florida on Thursday set February 15, 2027 as the trial date for President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster BBC.
The Republican leader filed the suit last year over the editing of his January 6, 2021, speech in a BBC documentary aired on the flagship current affairs program “Panorama.” Trump alleges the edits made it appear he explicitly urged supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol during the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Trump Seeks Multi-Billion Dollar Damages
Trump’s legal team is seeking at least $5 billion in damages per count, citing defamation and violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. A spokesperson for Trump called the BBC “formerly respected and now disgraced,” claiming the broadcaster deliberately manipulated his speech to influence the 2024 presidential election.
“The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda,” the spokesperson said.
BBC Responds
The BBC has denied the defamation claims but acknowledged the editing mistake. Chairman Samir Shah sent Trump a letter of apology and admitted to a UK parliamentary committee that the broadcaster should have addressed the error sooner. The controversy led to the resignation of the BBC director-general and the organization’s top news executive.
BBC lawyers have asked the Florida court to dismiss the case, arguing the broadcaster’s documentary aired outside the U.S. and Trump cannot prove it caused “cognizable injury.” They noted that Trump was reelected in 2024, winning Florida by a 13-point margin and improving on his 2020 and 2016 performances.
Part of Trump’s Broader Media Legal Strategy
The BBC lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions Trump has filed against media organizations. Several of his previous lawsuits have resulted in multi-million-dollar settlements. This case, if it proceeds, could be one of the largest defamation trials in U.S. history, given the $10 billion in damages sought.
With a trial now officially set for 2027, all eyes will be on how the court weighs jurisdiction issues, claims of defamation, and the impact of media coverage on Trump’s political career.
