A federal judge in Florida has ordered President Donald Trump to hand over part of his financial records as part of the legal process stemming from his defamation lawsuit against the BBC, in which he claims $10 billion for a documentary broadcast in 2024.

The decision represents a first procedural triumph for the British chain, which seeks access to financial information to assess whether the president can support his claim that the documentary affected his reputation and caused economic losses, The Wrap reported.

Justice considers Trump's finances relevant

Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett authorized the BBC's request for information related to Donald J. Trump's revocable trust, considering that the president himself placed at the center of the litigation the impact that the documentary would have had on his image and his businesses.

During the hearing, the judge explained that Trump's reputation, properties and companies are part of the issues that will have to be analyzed during the process.

“President Trump's entire brand, properties, and businesses are in jeopardy or are said to have been in jeopardy. Damages to reputation, economic damages, all that is now at stake in this case," said Judge Enjoliqué Lett, according to the court hearing.

The ruling can still be challenged before federal Judge Roy Altman.

The BBC seeks to demonstrate whether there was economic damage

The lawsuit was filed by Trump last December after the BBC's Panorama program edited excerpts from his January 6, 2021 speech. The president maintains that the edition gave the impression that he directly incited violence during the assault on the Capitol.

Subsequently, the president of the BBC, Samir Shah, acknowledged that the edition generated a "wrong impression", although he said that it was an involuntary error.

During the hearing, Trump's lawyer, Al Brito, argued that the lawsuit no longer seeks compensation related to the value of his companies, but only for the alleged damage to his reputation.

In response, BBC lawyer Chuck Tobin argued that the president's public image and business dealings are inseparable, so the financial records are relevant to the case.

In addition to this dispute, the BBC maintains a petition for the case to be dismissed on the grounds that there are not enough links with Florida for the litigation to continue in that state. That request is still pending.