U.S. President Donald Trump has secured a temporary reprieve in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC. Federal Judge Roy Altman in Florida on Thursday stayed an order requiring the president to disclose financial details of his business empire, according to infohub.kz.
Trump's lawyers are seeking to narrow his claim to reputational harm only, which would eliminate the need for financial disclosures. The amended complaint has not been made public.
Trump filed the lawsuit in December over a 2024 BBC documentary that he says edited his January 6, 2021 speech misleadingly, cutting out his call for peaceful protest. He seeks $5 billion for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices. The BBC has apologized for the edit but denies defamation.
Judge Altman found Trump's argument "compelling" and stayed the order from Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, which had required financial records from businesses held by his family trust by Thursday.
Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation noted that Trump may drop the case if financial disclosure becomes necessary. Stern called the $10 billion reputational damage claim "absurd" given Trump's election victory after the reporting.
The trial is provisionally set for February. This is one of several legal actions Trump has taken against media, including a $10 billion defamation suit against The Wall Street Journal and battles with ABC and the Associated Press.