It comes after Panorama faced criticism over a 2024 episode for giving the impression Donald Trump had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol.
The BBC has warned of the “chilling effect” US President Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit would have on “robust reporting on public figures and events”.
It comes after the corporation filed a motion to dismiss Mr Trump’s 10 billion dollar (£7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit over an edit of a Panorama documentary on Monday.
The programme faced criticism last year over an episode broadcast in 2024 for giving the impression the US president had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building in 2021 after he had lost the election to Joe Biden.
In the motion, the BBC cited case law and said: “Early dismissal is favoured given the powerful interest in ensuring that free speech is not unduly burdened by the necessity of defending against expensive yet groundless litigation, which would constrict the breathing space needed to ensure robust reporting on public figures and events.”
Arguing the case should be thrown out, the corporation continued: “All the more so when plaintiff (President Trump) is among the most powerful and high-profile individuals in the world, on whose activities the BBC reports every day.
“The chilling effect is clear.”
The motion went on to cite a “lack of personal jurisdiction” and a “failure to state a claim” as further reasons for wanting the lawsuit dismissed.
In the 34-page document, the BBC said: “In all, plaintiff (President Trump) falls well short of the high bar of actual malice.
“He fails to plausibly allege facts showing that defendants (BBC) knowingly intended to create a false impression.”
The BBC went on to say “the lack of actual malice is underscored by the fact that the brief clip, which shows 12 seconds of plaintiff’s speech on January 6, is part of an hour-long film with extensive coverage of his supporters and balanced coverage of his path to re-election”.
The corporation also argued Mr Trump’s defamation claim should be dismissed because he cannot show the corporation “purposefully aimed the documentary at Florida”.
The 79-year-old filed the claim against the BBC in the southern district of Florida in December last year, but the BBC said it is “not at home in Florida”.
In the motion to dismiss, the BBC added: “The president has no basis at all to ask this court to exercise jurisdiction over defendants (BBC).”
It also argued it is “not subject to general personal jurisdiction in Florida because they do not engage in substantial and not isolated activity within this state”.
The BBC said that meant it would be “unduly burdensome” to defend Mr Trump’s defamation case in the state.
The corporation added: “These burdens are not outweighed by Florida’s minimal interests in overseeing a dispute about UK entities’ role in a documentary aimed at UK viewers, who fund the BBC by paying the UK licence fee.
“It would be unduly burdensome for these UK defendants to defend themselves in Florida.
“Nor would it be fair to require defendants to litigate in Florida where the BBC took active measures to block Americans from viewing this documentary.”
Following the filing of the motion, a BBC spokesperson said: “We have said throughout we will robustly defend the case against us.
“Put simply – the documentary was never aired in Florida – or the US. It wasn’t available to watch in the US on iPlayer, online or any other streaming platforms including BritBox and BBC Select.
“We have therefore challenged jurisdiction of the Florida court and filed a motion to dismiss the president’s claim.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie resigned in November following the allegations that Panorama selectively edited Trump’s speech.
Rhodri Talfan Davies has been confirmed as the corporation’s interim director-general and will take on the role from April 3.
