New judge assigned to Trump's defamation case against BBC
A judge recently confirmed after Trump's nomination has taken over the president's $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC, replacing the previous judge. The trial is currently scheduled for February 2027.
Jeffrey Kuntz, a judge nominated by Donald Trump in April and confirmed by the Republican-led Senate last month in a 51-46 vote, has taken over as judge in Trump's $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
Kuntz previously served as an appeals court judge in Florida. He replaces Judge Roy Altman, who had also been nominated by Trump, back in 2019, and who had been overseeing the case concerning how the BBC's Panorama programme edited a speech Trump gave near the Capitol on 6 January 2021. The reassignment is one of 17 cases transferred to Kuntz following his July appointment to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
When announcing the nomination in April on Truth Social, Trump praised Kuntz's record on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal, describing him as tough and smart with a strong track record for the state.
The trial in the BBC case is currently set for February 2027, with Trump having requested a jury trial. The BBC has previously apologised for splicing together two separate portions of the speech Trump delivered before the 2021 Capitol riots. However, the broadcaster is seeking dismissal of the case, arguing the programme does not meet the legal threshold for defamation and that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction since the programme was not broadcast there.
As an appeals judge, Kuntz was also involved in another defamation suit brought by Trump. In February 2025, he was one of three judges who ruled in Trump's favour, allowing his lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board to proceed after it had honoured the New York Times and Washington Post for coverage of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Kuntz's April nomination drew criticism from opponents over a potential conflict of interest, since he was reportedly in discussions about a federal judgeship around the time of the Pulitzer ruling. Kuntz has said Florida judicial ethics rules did not require him to recuse himself, and that the White House only contacted him after he had already delivered his legal opinion in that case.
