Judge rules Trump’s $10bn BBC defamation suit can proceed

A United States judge has allowed President Donald Trump’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC to move forward in a blow to the state broadcaster. The US president’s civil case alleges that the United Kingdom broadcaster deceptively edited a January 6 documentary, claiming the broadcaster acted with malice to damage his reputation.

Jeffrey T Kuntz, a Trump-appointed federal district judge in the Southern District of Florida, issued a 40-page ruling on Tuesday partially rejecting the United Kingdom broadcaster’s motion to dismiss the case. He ruled that Trump’s claim that the broadcaster damaged his reputation and knew or should have known the clip was misleading was “plausibly alleged”, or credible.

While Kuntz’s decision moves the case forward, it did not establish whether Trump has proven those claims. It features clips of a speech Trump made on January 6, 2021, to his supporters, allegedly directing attendees to storm the US Capitol , the seat of the US Congress, as lawmakers voted to certify former President Joe Biden’s win.