Judge Orders Donald Trump to Disclose Financial Records in BBC Defamation Case

U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett in Miami ruled that former President Donald Trump must produce detailed financial documents from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, covering more than 400 companies, as part of discovery in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation. The case stems from a 2024 BBC Panorama documentary that edited Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech to suggest he urged violence, which the BBC later apologized for.

The judge said the plaintiff’s own claims that his brand, properties and businesses were harmed made the financial records relevant, stating, “All of President Trump’s brand, properties and businesses are impugned or said to have been impugned. Reputational, economic damages, all of that is now at issue in this case.” Trump’s attorneys attempted to narrow the suit to reputational damages only, but the court rejected that amendment. The ruling also permits the BBC to subpoena several of Trump’s close associates and family members, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, for documents related to the Jan. 6 rally. Trump may appeal to District Judge Roy Altman, who has not yet ruled on the broader jurisdictional arguments.