BBC demands Trump hand over phone records over January 6
The BBC has demanded that President Donald Trump hand over his personal phone records to prove he incited the January 6 riots, according to a GB News report.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The BBC has demanded that President Donald Trump hand over his personal phone records as part of a legal battle over a defamation lawsuit. The broadcaster's lawyers are seeking to prove that Trump incited the January 6, 2021, riots at the US Capitol, according to a report by GB News.
The demand is part of a discovery process in a case brought by Trump against the BBC. Trump is suing the broadcaster for £7.5 billion, claiming that a documentary falsely depicted him as responsible for urging his supporters to storm the Capitol. The BBC's legal team is now trying to show that Trump himself was culpable and that the broadcaster's reporting was accurate.
Central to the BBC's argument is an edited clip of Trump's speech on January 6. In the full speech, Trump said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol and I'll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell. We're going to walk down to the Capitol and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women." The BBC's version of the clip has been criticised by Trump's team as misleading, but the broadcaster maintains it fairly represents his call to action.
During the discovery phase, Trump has been asked to hand over his text messages from the night of January 6. The BBC wants to see whether he was advised to issue a statement telling supporters to leave the Capitol and whether he ignored that advice. If he did, the BBC will argue that he failed to stop the violence, not the broadcaster's reporting.
Trump is also being asked to disclose financial documents relating to as many as 400 companies he was involved in at the time. Legal analysts suggest he may be reluctant to hand over such material, which could lead to a settlement where he drops the financial damages claim but continues to pursue reputational damage. In that scenario, the BBC would have to prove that Trump damaged his own reputation.
The case is not expected to go to court until February next year. Meanwhile, the BBC's legal costs are being funded by the licence fee, meaning British taxpayers are effectively paying for the defence. Commentators have noted that the BBC's tactic could force a compromise, with both sides claiming victory, but the reputational damage to the broadcaster from the original editing controversy remains a significant issue.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | GB News |
|---|---|---|
| GB News reported that the BBC demanded Trump's personal phone records to prove he incited the January 6 riots. | · | |
| GB News reported that the BBC edited a clip of Trump's speech, removing the phrase 'we fight like hell' and replacing it with 'cheer on our brave senators'. | · | |
| GB News reported that the BBC is seeking Trump's financial documents from up to 400 companies. | · | |
| White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez was investigated for betting on Trump's speech content and placed on unpaid leave. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel did not cover the story about the BBC demanding Trump's phone records. Its broadcast focused on unrelated topics: air quality in a subway, a White House teleprompter operator betting on speech content, and a prostate cancer study.
GB News focused on the legal tactics and implications of the BBC's demand for Trump's phone records. The coverage included analysis from correspondent Bev Turner, who explained the discovery process and potential outcomes. The tone was critical of the BBC, highlighting the cost to taxpayers and the edited clip controversy.
- “the BBC has demanded that President Trump hand over his personal messages in an attempt to prove that he incited the January 6th riots”
- “it still does not change what they did. What they did was pretty egregious.”
- “the British taxpayer through the medium of the licence fee, etc., the BBC, is in any way on the hook. Too late for that.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.