Trump lawyers pitch fit as he's asked to prove 'financial harm' in libel claim: report

Amid the ongoing litigation of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, the president’s lawyers were asked to provide records supporting one of the president’s key claims in the suit – and immediately lashed out, The Guardian reported Friday.

Trump sued the BBC last year after accusing the broadcaster of deceptively editing a documentary that detailed his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He claimed to have suffered “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” due to the network’s actions.

Lawyers for the BBC, after forking over 45,000 pages to Trump’s legal team upon request as of May, asked the president’s lawyers to provide records from Trump’s trust, which holds much of the president’s business assets.

The lawyers were not pleased with the request.

“In response, Trump’s Florida-based lawyers Brito PLLC said the request was ‘disproportionate’ and ‘encompasses individuals and entities that have no connection to the issues in dispute,’” the Guardian’s report reads.

“They added it amounted to ‘tens of thousands of documents’ within 30 days, adding the timeframe was ‘unreasonable… and improper.’ It accused the BBC of a ‘textbook fishing expedition.’”

The response from Trump’s legal team sits in direct contrast, as flagged by the Guardian, with the BBC’s response to more than 500 separate requests from the president’s lawyers to the British broadcaster for records. As of May, Trump’s legal team “had produced none,” the outlet reported.

“In court filings [the BBC] denied it had damaged [Trump's] reputation as it aired shortly before his re-election, and was not shown in the US,” the Guardian’s report read. “BBC lawyers also argued that as it was not broadcast in the US, or in Florida, the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case. The dismissal claim is ongoing.”