Donald Trump's lawyers refuse to reveal president's financial information to the BBC in $10billion lawsuit

Published: 13:09, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 13:22, 6 June 2026 Donald Trump’s lawyers fighting a $10 billion defamation case against the BBC for a sensational ‘doctored’ Panorama documentary are refusing to hand over financial information to back their claim. The storm over the broadcast on its flagship current affairs programme in October 2024 where the BBC spliced together parts of the US President’s speech made before the storming of the US Capitol led to one of the biggest scandals ever to engulf the corporation. It led to both the resignation of BBC’s director-general Tim Davie, and head of news Deborah Turness over accusations the BBC had deliberately misrepresented what Mr Trump said on January 6, 2021. The BBC admitted ‘an error of judgement’ and ‘an editing mistake’ which meant Mr Trump appeared to encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol. They apologised but denied the broadcast was defamatory. But the President refused to let it lie, announcing last November that the apology was not enough and he would sue the BBC for $10 billion, claiming it ‘intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctored’ his speech. He alleges the Panorama episode harmed ‘the value of his brand, properties and businesses’ by causing him reputational and financial injury. At the time he said: ‘We have to do it. They’ve even admitted that they cheated. Not that they couldn’t have done that. They changed the words coming out of my mouth.’ Court documents have now revealed that Mr Trump’s legal team have so far not submitted paperwork BBC lawyers demanded to back up his claim he had suffered financial harm from the broadcast. They also show the President’s legal team have opposed the presiding judge in the case and have requested to switch judges, suggesting she is biased because of links to his political opponents. To succeed in a defamation lawsuit, lawyers must prove not only that the false statement was made and related to you but also that it caused harm to your reputation or finances. In the US, where the case had been lodged, a successful libel claim also requires proof the defamatory words or actions were undertaken with ‘malicious intent’. In the UK, this is not required. Donald Trump’s (pictured on June 4) lawyers fighting a $10 billion defamation case against the BBC are refusing to share his financial information to back his claim against the broadcaster BBC lawyers say they cannot assess the financial damage Mr Trump says the broadcast caused him without looking at his finances. But Mr Trump’s lawyers have refused the demand, accusing the BBC of ‘being on a fishing expedition’. Lawyers typically collect such financial information during the ‘discovery phase’ of a defamation lawsuit. To do so, the BBC has apparently served a subpoena on the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, which holds the president’s business interests and assets, asking for the production of documents which prove he suffered financial harm. They asked for almost 400 entities owned by or associated with the trust and asked for tax returns, court documents filed last month reveal. But the trust managed by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, who is the sole trustee, made ‘multiple objections’ to the requests. Its legal team, who are also representing Mr Trump, said it was a “fishing expedition” by the BBC and “that, as a non-party, it need not substantively respond”. They also criticised the 30-day timeline sought by the BBC to turn over ‘tens of thousands of documents from hundreds of non-parties’ as ‘unreasonable’ and ‘improper’, according to today’s Financial Times. The President has also separately failed to produce ‘any financial information’, say BBC lawyers. Meanwhile the BBC handed over more than 45,000 pages of documents last month following 503 requests for document production made by Mr Trump’s lawyers, the filings show. The BBC blamed the trust’s behaviour on a ‘flat refusal to provide any financial information under subpoena’ to back up Mr Trump's claims that the BBC injured ‘the value of his brand, properties, and businesses’. It has also called for the case, which is under the jurisdiction of the Florida court where Mr Trump filed his case, to be dismissed because the documentary never aired in the US. Meanwhile the BBC are objecting to continued calls from Mr Trump’s legal team to stop Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué A Lett from presiding in the case saying there are ‘no grounds to do so’ and the call is based on a ‘bare assertion that she is biased against him’. Mr Trump’s lawyers say the judge is not impartial because of links to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. They also say she is inappropriate because she was initially involved in a separate lawsuit by President Trump – his lawsuit against Capital One for terminating Trump Organization accounts after the January 6 attack – although she was later removed. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told the FT that the BBC was liable to the president for ‘intentionally and maliciously defaming him by distorting and manipulating his speech’. ‘No amount of attempted legal manoeuvres can change that fact. President Trump will continue to hold accountable the BBC and all those who traffic in fake news,’ they added No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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