Trump's Jan. 6 Personal Messages Sought by BBC

The BBC has demanded that Donald Trump hand over personal messages sent on January 6th.

The messages are requested as part of the BBC’s defense against the U.S. president's $10 billion defamation lawsuit over an edited Panorama documentary.

Lawyers for the broadcaster applied to the US government for evidence gathered by Jack Smith, the former special counsel, who concluded in a report that "the violence was foreseeable to Mr. Trump, that he caused it" and that he made "a conscious choice not to stop it."

Messages From the Day of the Riot

The requested evidence includes communications between Trump and his advisers during the roughly three hours between his Jan 6 speech and his eventual call for rioters to disperse.

The BBC has also served subpoenas on third parties. In a court filing, the broadcaster argued that "President Trump cannot prevail in his case if he cannot establish the falsity" of the claim that the edited speech implied he incited the violence.

Trump's Team Faces Setback

Trump's lawyers have so far refused to supply the BBC with documents, citing "executive privilege."

However, a judge ruled this week that Trump must turn over financial information related to his brand, properties and businesses, which he claims were damaged by the broadcast.

Echoes at the BBC

Trump’s edited speech was first highlighted in a Telegraph investigation based on a leaked memo from Michael Prescott, a former independent adviser to the BBC's editorial standards board.

The scandal led to the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness, while BBC chairman Samir Shah has called the edit an "error of judgment."

Trump's lawyers are reportedly prepared to travel to London to question Davie, with a High Court order possible if he refuses.

The defamation trial is set for February 2027.