Donald Trump's legal team has refused to hand over financial information requested by BBC lawyers in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, according to court filings seen by the Financial Times. The BBC requested these details to assess the financial impact of a Panorama documentary, which Trump alleges damaged "the value of his brand, properties, and businesses." The BBC's lawyers have accused Trump's team of a "flat refusal" to provide financial details, despite Trump's claims of reputational and financial injury.
Trump's lawyers have called the BBC's request a "fishing expedition" and argued that the 30-day timeline to produce "tens of thousands of documents from hundreds of non-parties" is "unreasonable" and "improper." They also requested a delay in proceedings, pending the outcome of a request for a new judge. Filings in May showed that while the BBC had produced over 45,000 pages of documents in response to Trump's 503 requests, Trump had produced none.
The lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary that Trump claims "intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring" a speech to make it appear he encouraged people to storm the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages, claiming the documentary caused him reputational and financial harm. The BBC, on the other hand, has called for the lawsuit's dismissal, arguing that the documentary never aired in the US, thus falling outside the Florida court's jurisdiction.
The BBC's legal team specifically sought financial documents reflecting holdings, value, assets, inventories, and property lists, including information from nearly 400 entities associated with the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, which holds Trump's business interests and assets and is managed by his eldest son. The trust's legal team, which is the same as Trump's, objected to these requests, arguing that as a non-party, it did not need to respond substantively. A U.S. judge had previously rejected the BBC's application to stay the merits-based discovery phase in February 2026, setting a two-week trial date for February 2027.
