Trump ordered to disclose finances in BBC case

President Donald Trump has been ordered to provide detailed financial records in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC after a magistrate judge ruled that his own claims had placed his businesses and economic interests at the center of the dispute.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the ruling on Tuesday following a three-hour discovery hearing in federal court in Miami. The decision could give BBC lawyers access to financial information linked to hundreds of companies associated with Trump and his family trust.

Trump filed the lawsuit in December 2025, alleging that the BBC deceptively edited parts of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech in a documentary, creating the false impression that he had directly called for violence at the U.S. Capitol. The broadcaster has apologized for what it described as a misleading edit but denies that it defamed Trump.

During the hearing, Lett said the broad damages claims made in Trump’s complaint meant his financial affairs were relevant to the case, according to CNBC.

“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,” Lett said.

Trump attorney Al Brito argued that the case had “evolved” and said the president was now seeking compensation only for alleged reputational harm, rather than economic losses involving his companies. However, Lett said she did not have the authority during the discovery hearing to remove or rewrite claims that remained in the complaint.

BBC attorney Chuck Tobin argued that Trump’s public reputation could not be separated from his identity as a businessman, Politico reported.

“He ran for president of the United States on a platform of the art of the deal,” Tobin said. “You cannot separate the man and his reputation from his operation of his businesses.”

The hearing also examined how much information the BBC may seek about Trump’s actions and intentions surrounding Jan. 6, when his supporters stormed the Capitol. Lett allowed the broadcaster to investigate how people understood Trump’s remarks but limited the scope of that inquiry.

“All of the impressions that were received by President Trump’s statements on Jan. 6 are at issue,” Lett said. “The full relitigation of Jan. 6 is not at issue.”

The BBC is also seeking to question Trump under oath. Tobin accused the president’s legal team of “dragging their feet on giving me a date for the president’s deposition.”

Separately, the broadcaster has asked U.S. District Judge Roy Altman to dismiss the case, arguing that it lacks sufficient ties to South Florida for the court to exercise jurisdiction. Altman, who was appointed by Trump, has not yet ruled on that request. A trial is currently scheduled for February 2027 if the case proceeds.