BREAKING: The BBC has turned Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against them into a January 6 trial against Trump
The BBC is arguing that to win his defamation case, Trump has to prove he did NOT foment or incite the riot.
This is the risk of suing a well-funded outlet that refuses to roll over.
By suing them, he put his own intent and the events of January 6 directly at issue.
Trump’s inner circle subpoenaed by BBC in US libel lawsuit
BBC requests Trump’s diary and phone logs in $10bn lawsuit
The British Broadcasting Corporation issued a wave of subpoenas to dozens of members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle as part of its defense in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit, raising fresh questions about Trump’s speech before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The BBC in recent weeks sent 47 subpoenas to members of Trump’s family and Cabinet, as well as the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, seeking information about the president’s intent and state-of-mind before the speech. Recipients include Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Michael Flynn.
Trump sued in December over a 2024 BBC documentary that included a misleading edit of a fiery speech he made shortly before the assault by his supporters, making it appear that he’d made a direct call for violence. The BBC apologized in November, but failed to prevent Trump’s suit.
The news outlet moved to dismiss the suit in March but has continued to build a defense should the case go to trial.
In a joint filing in federal court in Florida, lawyers for Trump and the BBC requested a hearing on the subpoenas. Trump argues the demands are part of a “fishing expedition,” while the BBC says Trump’s lawsuit opened the door to the requests for information about his conduct.
To win the case, Trump “must prove that he did not foment or incite the January 6 Capitol riot,” the BBC said. “Plaintiff has placed that question directly at issue in bringing this libel lawsuit – he cannot now prevent defendants from seeking records that would shed light on his true knowledge, intent, and state of mind in delivering his speech.”
Trump’s lawsuit centers on a 12-second clip of the speech he delivered shortly before Capitol attack, part of a failed effort by his supporters to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. The edit, part of a documentary about Trump’s supporters, spliced together two parts of the speech in a way that made it appear as if he’d made a direct call for violence that day.
The subpoenas seek a wide range of information, including all emails, text messages and other communications about the “Stop the Steal” rally and Trump’s general effort to challenge the result of the 2020 presidential election, as well as all records that were provided by each recipient to federal investigators.
The BBC also pointed to the findings for Special Counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Trump’s alleged election interference and his role in the riot. The news outlet cited a portion of Smith’s report that said his office “determined that there were reasonable arguments to be made that Mr. Trump’s Ellipse Speech incited the violence at the Capitol on January 6.”
Smith ultimately charged Trump with multiple crimes surrounding his alleged effort to overturn the result of the election. The Justice Department dropped the case after Trump won reelection in 2024, citing a standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
The Panorama program at the center of the case, which aired before the 2024 presidential election, included a clip that made it appear that Trump had told his supporters they should “walk down to the Capitol” and “fight like hell” before the riot. In fact, Trump said they should “cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” The “fight like hell” remark was from a different part of the speech.
Lisa Baker
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário