A federal judge in Miami on Tuesday rejected the BBC‘s bid to end President Donald Trump’s defamation suit over an edited clip of his speech to supporters on January 6, 2021. US District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, a Trump appointee, threw out a separate claim under Florida’s unfair trade practices law, which sought $5 billion of the $10 billion Trump demands.
Kuntz ruled that Trump plausibly alleged actual malice, the high bar a public figure must clear to win a defamation case. The disputed 12-second segment in the documentary “Trump: A Second Chance?” splices remarks Trump made about 55 minutes apart. The gap supports an inference that the broadcaster knew, or ought to have known, the segment could not be truthful, the judge wrote, and the edit went beyond trimming. He rejected the opinion defense because the clip shows Trump saying something he never said.
Kuntz also kept the case in Florida, citing Trump’s residence there and filming done in the state. The BBC says it never broadcast the program in the United States, but the order notes it emailed people in the US and Florida instructions for watching it. The trade practices count failed because the documentary is editorial content, not the commercial speech that statute covers.
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The ruling does not decide whether the BBC defamed Trump. Proof of his claims is “left for another day,” the judge wrote. He distinguished the case from Trump’s suits against CNN and the Wall Street Journal, noting the BBC created the story itself.
The BBC said the decision surprised it, that it respects the court and that it stays confident in its position. It apologized in November 2025 and acknowledged the edit gave a mistaken impression that Trump directly called for violence, but it denies defaming him. Trump called the ruling “A Huge Victory against Fake News BBC” on Truth Social.
Kuntz gave the BBC until December 1 to answer the defamation claim. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett told Trump to appear for questioning by December 11, after the BBC pressed for a deposition date, and warned that missing the deadline could bring sanctions up to dismissal.
Read: BBC Asks Miami Judge to Order Trump to Set A Date for His Deposition in $10 Billion Suit
Trump’s lawyers asked Kuntz on Tuesday to lift that warning and pause the deadline, and they want a ruling by November 20. They say Trump can testify January 11 to 22, citing his presidential duties, and plan to seek later dates for the December 18 discovery cutoff and the trial.
The BBC is seeking subpoenas to question dozens of Trump allies and former cabinet officials about his thinking before and during the speech.
