Judge Rules Trump’s Trust Must Provide Financial Documents To BBC

A federal magistrate judge ruled that Donald Trump‘s trust will be compelled to provide financial documents from his businesses to the BBC, as the network defends itself from the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett granted part of the BBC’s motion to compel the production of documents from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, but limited the scope of the network’s subpoena to records dating back to Jan. 1, 2023.

“Considering the Trust’s relationship to Plaintiff’s alleged damages, the information the Trust possesses is relevant and material to any damages analysis Defendant may elect to conduct,” the judge wrote. “Defendant’s damage analysis is especially important to Defendant where Plaintiff now alleges $10 billion in damages.”

Trump sued the BBC in December over edits that were made in a documentary about the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

The judge had already indicated her ruling at a hearing last week. Per Politico, the judge also limited the scope of information that could be sought by the BBC into January 6th. “All of the impressions that were received by President Trump’s statements on January 6 are at issue. The full relitigation of January 6 is not at issue,” the judge said, per the outlet.

In her written ruling, the judge rejected the trust’s claims that the subpoena for documents from nearly 400 different entities is outside the scope of discovery, citing Trump’s claims that his “brand, properties and businesses” were harmed.

In the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?, a clip is shown from his January 6 speech, in which he says, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” In fact, the remark was an edit of different portions of the speech. The documentary aired on Oct. 28, 2024.

In the fallout from the focus on the edited speech, BBC director general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, who led the news division, stepped down.

Last month, after the president’s legal threat, the BBC apologized to Trump, calling it an “error of judgement.” But the BBC did not offer to pay Trump any damages.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said, “The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”

Trump is seeking $5 billion in defamation damages and another $5 billion over violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The judge wrote that “documentation from the date of January 1, 2023, to the present should allow Defendant to determine Plaintiff’s financial position immediately before and after the documentary’s publication.”

A spokesperson for the BBC did not immediately return a request for comment.