Judge Grants Trump Permission to Amend $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has granted President Donald Trump permission to file an amended complaint in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation, allowing him to narrow the claims and potentially limit the scope of financial discovery sought by the broadcaster.

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman of the Southern District of Florida issued the ruling on Monday, finding good cause for the amendment under federal procedural rules. The decision renders the BBC’s previous motion to dismiss moot and permits Trump’s legal team to submit a revised complaint focused more narrowly on alleged personal reputational harm rather than claimed damage to his business brand and properties.

Trump filed the original lawsuit in December 2025 in his personal capacity. It alleges that a BBC Panorama documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?,” which aired shortly before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, defamed him by deceptively editing portions of his January 6, 2021, speech. According to the complaint, the program spliced together separate segments of the speech—delivered nearly an hour apart—to create a false impression that Trump continuously urged supporters to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell.” Trump contends the edit was intentional, malicious, and designed to influence the election against him.

The original filing sought $5 billion in damages for defamation and another $5 billion under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. It asserted harm not only to Trump’s personal reputation but also to his brand, properties, and businesses. During discovery, the BBC sought extensive financial records related to Trump’s companies and trusts to test the scale of the claimed economic damages. Trump’s team moved to amend the complaint after obtaining additional information through depositions of BBC representatives and internal documents, arguing the revised pleading better reflected the developed record and focused the case.

The BBC opposed the amendment, contending that Trump had missed the deadline to amend as a matter of right and was engaging in tactical maneuvering to avoid producing financial information. Judge Altman rejected those arguments, determining that the proposed changes rested on information obtained after the original amendment deadline and that there was no undue delay, bad faith, or prejudice sufficient to deny leave. He noted that questions about the precise scope of remaining discovery, including any financial disclosures still required under the narrowed claims, would be resolved separately.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team described the ruling as a major win against what they called the BBC’s intentionally deceptive editing of the speech in an attempt to interfere with the 2024 election. The BBC has previously expressed regret over the manner in which the video clip was edited but has maintained that it does not constitute defamation and has defended the documentary overall. The broadcaster can now respond to the amended complaint, including by filing a new motion to dismiss if it chooses.

The case continues in federal court in Miami. The amended complaint keeps the overall demand for substantial damages while refining the legal theories and factual allegations based on the discovery conducted to date. Further proceedings will determine whether the narrowed claims proceed and what additional evidence the parties must exchange.