Judge Says Trump Trust Must Disclose Financial Records to BBC

A federal magistrate judge in Miami ruled Tuesday that a trust that holds many of President Donald Trump’s business interests and is administered by his son Donald Trump Jr. must disclose financial records sought by the British Broadcasting Corp. in the president’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
Donald Trump sued the BBC in December over a 2024 documentary that he alleges misleadingly edited a speech he gave shortly before the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol to make it appear he directly called for violence. The BBC apologized in November, but the apology did not prevent the lawsuit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett of the Southern District of Florida said at a hearing that subpoenas issued by the BBC are reasonable given the breadth of Trump’s lawsuit, which claims the 12-second clip of his speech had a devastating impact on the value of his brand, properties, and future financial prospects.
The judge also granted the BBC’s request to compel compliance with a subpoena issued to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust seeking a wide array of financial documents, Bloombergreported. Even so, Lett said, the information sought by the BBC might need to be narrowed.
“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 at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing, according to Politico.
Her decision opens the door for the BBC to seek financial records related to nearly 400 entities affiliated with President Donald Trump held by the trust, but the president can appeal the ruling to U.S. District Judge Roy Altman, whom he appointed.
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