Donald Trump sued the BBC and BBC Studios for $10B in Miami federal court, alleging a Panorama documentary edited his January 6, 2021 speech to make it look like a direct incitement to violence, supporting both a defamation claim and a claim under Florida’s deceptive trade practices statute. After a discovery fight over Trump’s finances, he amended the complaint to drop his business-damage theory, mooting the BBC’s first motion to dismiss, and the BBC has now filed a renewed motion to dismiss the narrowed case.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · AUG 24, 2026
After Judge Altman allowed Trump to amend his complaint in August 2026 to drop the business-damage theory, mooting the BBC’s first motion to dismiss and sparing the Trump Organization broad financial discovery, the BBC filed a renewed motion to dismiss on August 24, 2026, arguing lack of personal jurisdiction and that almost no Florida viewers saw the Panorama broadcast. The case was reassigned in August 2026 to newly confirmed Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz, with a jury trial set for February 15, 2027.
BACKGROUND
Donald Trump filed suit against the British Broadcasting Corporation and BBC Studios in the Southern District of Florida in December 2025, seeking $10B over a Panorama documentary that spliced together parts of his January 6, 2021 speech in a way he says falsely made it appear he directly incited the Capitol riot. The complaint pleads both Florida common law defamation and a claim under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, split roughly $5B apiece between the two theories.
The BBC moved to dismiss in March 2026, and the parties then fought over discovery, including a subpoena the BBC served on the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust for financial records tied to Trump’s original claim that the edited clip damaged his businesses. Trump resisted that discovery, and in August 2026 the court let him file an amended complaint that dropped the business-damage theory, which mooted the BBC’s first motion to dismiss and avoided broad financial disclosure. The BBC filed a renewed motion to dismiss on August 24, 2026, reportedly challenging the case in part on the ground that only a small number of American viewers could have seen the Panorama broadcast, since the BBC does not broadcast in the United States and would rely on incidental streaming or VPN access.
The case remains pending before the district court on the BBC’s renewed motion to dismiss. A jury trial is currently set for February 15, 2027 in Miami; no merits ruling has issued as of September 2026.
TIMELINE
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AUG 24, 2026FILINGBBC files a renewed motion to dismiss
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AUG 18, 2026PROCEDURALCase reassigned to Judge Jeffrey T. KuntzThe suit was transferred from Judge Roy K. Altman to newly confirmed Judge Kuntz. Trial remains set for February 15, 2027.
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AUG 12, 2026OTHERReporting on BBC’s viewership defenseCoverage highlighted the BBC’s argument that only a small number of American viewers, on the order of a few hundred, could have seen the Panorama documentary given the BBC does not broadcast in the United States.
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AUG 10, 2026PROCEDURALCourt permits an amended complaint that drops business-damage claims
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AUG 5, 2026PROCEDURALCourt pauses discovery into Trump’s financesTrump sought and won a temporary halt to BBC discovery requests targeting his financial records while he sought to amend his complaint.
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JUN 9, 2026PROCEDURALTrump moves to keep the suit alive amid discovery fightTrump pressed the court to let the defamation case continue as the parties disputed the scope of discovery into his finances.
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MAY 15, 2026PROCEDURALBBC subpoenas Trump Revocable Trust for financial recordsThe BBC and Trump filed a joint motion over a subpoena the BBC served on the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust seeking financial records relevant to the (then-pending) claim that the edited clip damaged Trump’s businesses.
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MAR 16, 2026FILINGBBC moves to dismiss the original complaintThe BBC asked the court to dismiss Trump’s $10B defamation and unfair-trade-practices claims over the Panorama edit.
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DEC 15, 2025FILINGTrump files a $10B defamation and unfair trade practices suit against the BBC in Miami