White House considers joining Trump lawsuit against BBC

The White House is considering joining Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC, court filings show.

The White House is considering joining Donald Trump's lawsuit against the BBC, court filings show. The US president is demanding $10bn (£7.5bn) in damages from the BBC in the defamation lawsuit brought about by The Telegraph's reporting. Now, the US government has told a court in Florida "that it is considering participating in this litigation" as an interested party, according to filings seen by The Financial Times (FT).

The move raises the prospect that documents that the BBC has requested from the US president as part of the legal proceedings could be blocked from release on the grounds of executive privilege or risks to national security. Any intervention from the US government could further complicate the landmark defamation claim. In November, The Telegraph revealed that Panorama had allegedly spliced separate parts of Mr Trump's speech on Jan 6, 2021 in a way that wrongly suggested he had urged his supporters to "fight like hell" and storm the US Capitol.

In fact, he said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. Mr Trump launched a lawsuit against the BBC for defamation. The broadcasting corporation has since requested that the US president hand over his phone records and private schedules from around the time of the Jan 6, 2021 insurrection.

The BBC has apologised for the "mistaken impression" created by the documentary but rejected Mr Trump's demands for compensation. BBC want case thrown out due to 'conflict of interest' The broadcaster claimed in February that the case should be thrown out of the Southern District of Florida court, as there is no evidence that the Panorama film was viewed in the US. Involvement of the US state has raised concerns at the BBC about the blurring of boundaries between the actions of the US state and Mr Trump.

The "conflict of interest is clear and stark", the BBC said in a submission responding to the US government's filing, according to the FT. Lawyers for the BBC are also said to have highlighted comments from another court case stating that "although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president," and the US agencies "are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction". In a submission last month, the US government sought to justify its involvement in the case by pointing out that the BBC had served 48 subpoenas for the release of documents, including some on executive-branch agencies.

This week, the US government told the Florida court that the BBC's requests for information from government agencies failed to meet the necessary legal requirements, according to filings seen by The FT. It is the latest example of the Department of Justice wading into civil lawsuits involving the US president. Previous efforts include attempting to substitute itself for Mr Trump as the defendant in other Jan 6 lawsuits and in an appeal against an $83.3m (£65m) defamation verdict awarded to the writer E. Jean Carroll, which federal courts rejected.

In Mr Trump's action against the BBC, the US government would seek to join as an interested party, not as a plaintiff. This means that the White House would participate to protect its own interests rather than seeking damages itself. Mr Trump has claimed that the BBC's editing of his speech, which was disclosed in a whistleblower's memo obtained by The Telegraph, severely harmed "the value of his brand, properties, and businesses".

In separate documents seen by The FT, the BBC said the US president had still not disclosed any of the financial information requested by its lawyers in the case. In early June, the BBC requested the financial information be submitted within 30 days – a timeline Mr Trump's lawyers said was "unreasonable" and "improper". Lawyers for the broadcaster have also demanded the US president disclose a string of documents for the case, including his telephone logs, calendars, schedules and diaries from Nov 3, 2020 to Jan 20, 2021.

According to The FT, Mr Trump's counsel last month proposed producing initial documents by July 20, with further releases to follow. A further filing this week is said to have urged the court to reject the BBC's request to dismiss the case. Tim Davie, the director-general, and Deborah Turness, the head of news, both stepped down in the aftermath of The Telegraph's reporting.

Mr Davie later blamed "enemies" of the BBC for stoking the scandal engulfing the corporation, declaring the broadcaster "the very best of society". A trial date has been set for February 2027 in Florida. The BBC was approached for comment.