Donald Trump would face legal hurdles in launching a $1bn lawsuit against the BBC over “defamatory” statements on Panorama, partly because the documentary may not have been aired in the United States.
Under defamation laws in Florida, where the US president has threatened to launch his case, Trump: A Second Chance? must have been available to view in the state for a lawsuit for damages to be filed.
The BBC, which is currently reviewing a letter from Mr Trump’s lawyer on the legal threat, has not confirmed if the programme was aired in the US state.
If it wasn’t shown on iPlayer in the US, or on the broadcaster’s global feed, media lawyer Mark Stephens said it could create an early stumbling block for the US president. He also said Mr Trump’s team could struggle to prove “additional serious harm” to his reputation, and that he might want to avoid further focus on his conduct from a court case.
“There are more than a few legal trip wires between President Trump and legal victory against the BBC,” said Mr Stephens.
Why is Donald Trump threatening legal action?
Mr Trump has threatened legal action against the corporation after concerns were raised over the way clips of his speech before the attack on the US Capitol in 2021 were edited for the Panorama programme.
Clips from two different sections of the speech appeared together, apparently making it seem he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
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In the summer, a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised the issues – and critics have accused the BBC of failing to respond properly.
On Monday, Mr Trump’s counsel, Alejandro Brito, sent a letter to the corporation, demanding that “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about the US president be retracted immediately.
The letter also demanded an apology and for Mr Trump to be compensated “for the harm caused”.
The BBC has until Friday, 5pm EST, to comply, before Mr Trump will be “left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages”, the letter said.
Why would Mr Trump launch action in the US?
Mr Trump’s legal threat states he would plan to launch a legal suit against the BBC under Florida law.
Under UK defamation laws, a claim must be made within a year of the material being published. The Panorama programme was aired in October 2024, which means it has passed the deadline for legal action to be launched in the UK, Mr Stephens said.
However, in the US state of Florida, the time limit is two years, which means action could be launched.
Mr Stephens told BBC Breakfast: “A UK defamation claim is now out of time, he had one year from Monday October 28 2024 when Panorama aired so he’s 14 days or so out of time for a claim in the UK. A claim in Florida would be in time, it’s a two-year limitation there.”
What difficulty could Mr Trump face in launching a case against the BBC?
Despite being within the legal time limit under the law in Florida, Mr Stephens said there were more “legal trip wires” for Mr Trump to secure victory in a case.
For the case to go ahead, Mr Stephens said Mr Trump’s legal team would have to show that the programme had been aired in the US state of Florida.
The BBC has not confirmed if it was, but on its website, it states that viewers watching iPlayer, the platform on which the programme was aired, had to be in the UK to stream and download content.
It’s not yet clear if the programme was shared on the BBC’s global news feed. The Independent has contacted the BBC to ask if it was.
Mr Stephens said: “The problem for President Trump’s lawyers is that Panorama wasn’t broadcast in the USA and BBC iPlayer isn’t available in the USA, so it’s not clear if any US court would have jurisdiction to hear the claim.”
Could BBC win the case against Mr Trump in court?
In the UK, to win a defamation case, the accuser has to prove that the statement was made and published, and it caused serious harm to the reputation of the claimant.
In the US, law states that the accuser has to show that there was “actual malice” in making the statement, rather than mere negligence.
The law, along with a greater respect for freedom of expression in the US, could make it challenging for Mr Trump to win a case against the BBC, solicitor Joshua Rozenberg told BBC’s Today programme.
He said: “Generally speaking, there is respect for freedom of expression in the US, perhaps more than in the UK. Generally speaking, you have to show that the person you are accusing acted with malice.
“So there are definitely restrictions on being able to sue and arguments that can be put.”
Mr Stephens also told BBC Breakfast that Mr Trump could face difficulty in proving his case for overwhelming financial and reputational harm.
He said: “Trump’s reputation has already been battered by nine judicial findings, some congressional hearings, global coverage of 6 January [storming of the US Capitol] and he faces ongoing civil lawsuits in Washington.
“So proving that Panorama caused additional serious harm is a bit of a stretch. If it can be shown by the BBC that his reputation was already in tatters on this issue, blaming the BBC for the wreckage of that is a bit of a tough sell.”
Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media, said libel laws in Florida meant he was “very assured” the BBC would win a case launched against it by Mr Trump.
He said: “I have no doubt the BBC misrepresented what the president said, and that’s pretty clear, I think everyone agrees – that’s why you had those resignations. [I’m] also very assured that if the BBC took the case to court they would prevail, they would prevail because the state of Florida has pretty strong libel laws that defend media companies and free speech.”
What risks would Mr Trump face in proceeding with legal action?
If a legal suit was launched against the BBC, Mr Stephens told BBC Breakfast that, as well as further scrutiny on BBC operations, it could also bring Mr Trump’s conduct under the microscope.
He said: “This is a civil case, not a criminal case, so the standard proof for the BBC is less high and, as a consequence, you have got real litigation risks that the libel trial would put Trump’s January 6 conduct under the microscope in a court.”
He added: “Trump risks turning what’s currently a PR skirmish with the BBC very much on the back foot into a global headline that the court finds Trump’s words were incendiary.”
Asked what advice he would give the BBC, Mr Stephens said “hang tough” – adding that bosses should not be intimidated.
