The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will file a motion to dismiss United States (US) President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit over its editing of a speech that made it appear he had directed supporters to storm the US Capitol.
In a filing late on Monday, the broadcaster argued that the court in Florida lacked personal jurisdiction in the case because it did not broadcast the programme in Florida, and that the president could not prove damages because he was re-elected after it aired.
Trump said Britain’s publicly owned broadcaster defamed him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech, including one section where he told supporters to march on the Capitol and another where he said “fight like hell.” It omitted a section in which he called for peaceful protest.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges the BBC violated a Florida law that bars deceptive and unfair trade practices. He is seeking at least $5 billion in damages for each of the lawsuit’s two counts.
–Reuters–
