Judge Orders Trump’s Trust to Hand Over Financial Records in Defamation Case

A federal magistrate judge has 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.

The judge’s ruling comes after the BBC was sued by Trump in December over edits made in a documentary about the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The documentary, titled ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’, aired on Oct. 28, 2024, and featured a clip from Trump’s 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.’

However, the remark was an edit of different portions of the speech, and the BBC has apologized to Trump for the error. Despite this, 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.’

In her 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.

The BBC has not yet commented on the judge’s ruling, but 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.’

The case is ongoing, and the BBC will likely face further scrutiny as the lawsuit continues.

Key Points:

• The BBC has been sued by Trump over edits made in a documentary about the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
• The judge has ruled that Trump’s trust must provide financial documents from his businesses to the BBC.
• The scope of the network’s subpoena has been limited to records dating back to Jan. 1, 2023.
• Trump is seeking $5 billion in defamation damages and another $5 billion over violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.