Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Reassigned To Judge Who Helped Keep His Lawsuit Against the Pulitzer Prize Board Alive

As President Trump awaits a ruling on a motion to dismiss his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, his legal team is likely feeling a little more optimistic about the future of the case as it has been transferred to a judge who sided with the president last year and rejected an effort to kill his lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board. Mr. Trump previously asked for a new judge to be assigned the case, and his attorneys have expressed frustration with the BBC’s attempts to get testimony from his family members and access his financial records. In a brief order, the federal district court judge overseeing the proceedings, Roy Altman, a Trump appointee, reassigned the case to a different judge, Jeffrey Kuntz, also a Trump appointee, effective Friday. The order did not provide any details about why the case was reassigned. However, 16 other cases were also reassigned to Judge Kuntz. Mr. Trump previously praised Judge Kuntz, who served as a Florida appeals court judge before his nomination to the federal bench. In a post on Truth Social announcing Judge Kuntz’s nomination, the president wrote, “Jeffrey has been TOUGH and SMART and delivered strong results for the Sunshine State.”In December, Mr. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over its editing of his January 6, 2021 speech at the Ellipse. The BBC edited the clip as part of its “Panorama” program ahead of the 2024 election. The program spliced together his words and left out his comment about his supporters “peacefully and patriotically” marching to the U.S. Capitol, which made his comments appear to be a clear call to violence. The BBC apologized for the edits, but said it had not defamed Mr. Trump.Mr. Trump has previously sought the recusal of a federal magistrate judge, Enjoliqué Lett, who had been assigned to handle pretrial discovery matters. In a May filing, Mr. Trump’s attorneys said they discovered that “immediately before assuming judicial office,” Judge Lett had represented an investigative firm that helped compile a dossier detailing Mr. Trump’s alleged connections to Russia ahead of the 2016 election. Judge Lett and Judge Altman both rejected the motion to recuse. A trial is scheduled to begin in February 2027. The BBC has filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that Mr. Trump was not harmed because he won the 2024 election after the documentary aired. Lawyers for the network also argue the president lacks standing to sue since the documentary never aired in Florida.As the case moves forward, the decision to reassign the case may give Mr. Trump’s team optimism as Judge Kuntz has previously been involved in decisions regarding his defamation cases. Judge Kuntz was the author of a Florida appeals court decision that rejected the Pulitzer Prize Board’s request to dismiss Mr. Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the panel over its decision to give awards to the New York Times and the Washington Post for their reporting on allegations that his campaign colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 election. The board argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed due to a lack of jurisdiction as just one of the defendants resides in Florida. In February 2025, the judges found that because the one Pulitzer Prize Board member who resides in Florida was involved in reviewing and editing a statement defending the prizes, Florida courts do have jurisdiction in the case. The BBC declined to comment.

Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Reassigned To Judge Who Helped Keep His Lawsuit Against the Pulitzer Prize Board Alive

Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Reassigned To Judge Who Helped Keep His Lawsuit Against the Pulitzer Prize Board Alive

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