US District Judge Roy K. Altman granted Trump’s motion to file an amended complaint in his $10 billion defamation suit against the BBC, letting him drop claims that the network’s edited Panorama documentary damaged his businesses and brand. Monday’s order also rendered the BBC’s pending motion to dismiss moot, since it had targeted the original complaint.
Trump sued the BBC in December for $10 billion — $5 billion for defamation and $5 billion under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act — over a 2024 Panorama episode that spliced together portions of his January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear he directly urged supporters toward violence. The BBC has apologized for the edit but denies defaming him.
Read: Judge Confirms Trump Must Formally Hand Over Financial Records to the BBC
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Because his original complaint claimed the edit hurt the value of his brand, properties and businesses, Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust to produce years of tax filings, ownership paperwork and financial statements dating back to early 2023, spanning roughly 400 businesses connected to the president.
Facing a compliance deadline last week, the trust asked Altman for emergency relief, arguing the pending motion to amend could make Lett’s order moot. Altman agreed to pause enforcement, calling the trust’s reasoning a “compelling argument.”
Read: BBC Tells Court Trump’s ‘Emergency’ Motion Isn’t Real
Altman’s order requires Trump to file the narrowed complaint the same day, replacing the business-damage theory with reputational harm alone. Altman even flagged an upside for the BBC — narrowing the suit also narrows what Trump can ultimately collect. But he left the finance fight unresolved, writing that whether the new complaint changes Trump’s disclosure obligations is “a question we’ll leave for Magistrate Judge Lett.”
Altman already set a trial date for February 2027 — whatever Lett decides on the financial records, more discovery fights are likely before then.
