BBC asks US court to dismiss Trump's $10 billion lawsuit

The BBC said it had asked a US federal court in Florida to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump against the British broadcaster.

Trump launched a lawsuit last year over a BBC documentary that edited his 2021 speech ahead of the US Capitol riot.

The documentary was "never aired in Florida—or the US" or available to stream there on any platform, a BBC spokesperson said in a comment sent to AFP.

"We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the President's claim."

The spokesman said the BBC had "said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us."

Lawyers for the BBC had already written in documents submitted to the Miami court in January that the broadcaster would "move to dismiss the complaint" over the court's lack of "personal jurisdiction."

The BBC documentary spliced together two separate sections of Trump's speech on Jan. 6, 2021, making it appear that he had explicitly urged supporters to attack the US Capitol in Washington.

The US leader is seeking "damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000" for each of two counts against the BBC, for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.