📰 What Happened
BBC lawyers want to question Jack Smith, the special counsel who charged Donald Trump over the 2020 election. They filed the request in federal court on Monday as the BBC defends a $10 billion defamation lawsuit. Smith does not object to the subpoena. The BBC says his report's conclusions are public, but the evidence behind them is not, including material on whether the January 6 violence was foreseeable.
🔍 The Backstory
Trump sued the BBC in December over a documentary called Trump: A Second Chance? that aired before the 2024 election. It included a clip of his January 6 speech that joined separate parts of his remarks. Trump's lawyers say the film was false and aimed at swaying the election. They argue Smith has no direct knowledge and that his evidence is secondhand. A judge has set a hearing for Thursday.
🎯 Why It Matters
The case tests how far a US president can sue a foreign broadcaster, and what evidence courts allow in defamation trials.

BBC lawyers want to question Jack Smith, the special counsel who charged Donald Trump over the 2020 election. They filed the request in federal court on Monday as the BBC defends a $10 billion defamation lawsuit. Smith does not object to the subpoena. The BBC says his report's conclusions are public, but the evidence behind them is not, including material on whether the January 6 violence was foreseeable.

Trump sued the BBC in December over a documentary called Trump: A Second Chance? that aired before the 2024 election. It included a clip of his January 6 speech that joined separate parts of his remarks. Trump's lawyers say the film was false and aimed at swaying the election. They argue Smith has no direct knowledge and that his evidence is secondhand. A judge has set a hearing for Thursday.

The case tests how far a US president can sue a foreign broadcaster, and what evidence courts allow in defamation trials.

📰 Source: News Source
deadline.com ↗
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