President Donald Trump dropped part of his lawsuit against the BBC on Thursday.
In a new filing viewed and obtained by TheWrap Thursday, the president dismissed the defamation claims he made against BBC Studios Distribution Limited and BBC Studios Productions Limited. Though, Trump only dropped his claims against the commercial and production arms of the company, as his lawsuit against the broadcaster remains.
“Plaintiff President Donald J. Trump and Defendants BBC Studios Distribution Limited and BBC Studios Productions Limited (together, the ‘Studios Defendants’), by and through their respective undersigned counsel, hereby stipulate and agree that, in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), all claims in this action asserted against the Studios defendants are hereby dismissed with prejudice,” the filing stated, “with each party to bear its own costs and attorney’s fees. President Trump shall continue prosecuting his causes of action against Defendant British Broadcasting Corporation.”
Representatives for the White House and the BBC did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Trump sued the BBC for $5 billion back in December, alleging a “false, deceptive and defamatory” edit of the “Panorama” documentary “Trump: A Second Chance?”
“The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election,” a spokesperson for the president’s legal team said in a statement at the time.
The statement continued: “The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda. President Trump’s powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”
The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida and accused the BBC of editing a clip of Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021 speech in Washington, D.C. to appear as if the president was calling on his voters to “walk down to the Capitol” and “fight like hell” moments before the violent insurrection took place. The documentary, which aired Oct. 28, 2024 ahead of the November presidential election, also edited out Trump saying, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Prior to filing his suit, Trump threatened to take legal action unless the BBC leadership retracted the program, issued an apology and agreed to “appropriately compensate” Trump for damages done by a set deadline. On Nov. 13, the BBC apologized for the edits to his Jan. 6, 2021, speech in Washington, fulfilling one of the three demands to prevent the lawsuit. The broadcaster also pulled the documentary from all streaming platforms and has stated it will not be rebroadcast.
Yet, the BBC refused to admit that the edits were defamatory. “The BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim,” a spokesperson said at the time. BBC Chair Samir Shah also sent a letter to the White House “making clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation are sorry for the edit.”
In March, the BBC filed a motion to dismiss Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit, defending the president couldn’t “plausibly claim that the documentary harmed his reputation” since he won the election after the documentary’s release. It also stated that the president couldn’t prove that the 12-second clip in the hour-long documentary was intended to create a false impression.
“Indeed, nothing better reflects how President Trump’s supporters understood his remarks than their own statements,” the March filing stated, “and over 100 defendants charged with offenses related to January 6 told the courts that they interpreted President Trump’s remarks as a call to action.”
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