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Trump Tries to Pause His Own BBC Lawsuit to Hide His Finances

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05.08.2026

Trump Tries to Pause His Own BBC Lawsuit to Hide His Finances

The president’s lawsuit against the BBC is blowing up in his face.

President Trump on Wednesday filed an emergency motion to stop the British Broadcasting Corporation from gaining broad access to intimate details about his finances.

The emergency stay is the latest development in how Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, triggered by a 2024 episode of Panorama titled “Trump, a Second Chance,” is backfiring. Last month, U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett allowed the BBC to move forward with gaining access to the financial information of at least 400 business entities owned by Trump’s family trust. Lett set a Thursday deadline for the BBC to get hold of his financial records.

Now Trump is scrambling to stop what he started from blowing up in his face.

“The BBC’s motive could not be more transparent—to wrongly exploit this litigation for its own political benefit, as well as the benefit of President Trump’s other political opponents,” the deposition read. “The moment those records reach the BBC, the injury is complete and irreversible.” His lawyers also accused the BBC of having “clearly political motivations.”

Trump’s legal team is asking Lett to allow Trump to go back and change the language of the suit, so that his lucrative business dealings as president are not subject to public scrutiny.

The BBC has yet to respond.

It seems obvious that Trump bit off more than even he can chew here. If his plea to change the discovery parameters fails, we may see him drop the lawsuit entirely.

Todd Blanche Sends Chilling Message to Every U.S. Attorney

The acting attorney general has some thoughts on Jeanine Pirro and that Reflecting Pool “vandalism” case.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gave a chilling message to U.S. attorneys across the country at a press conference Wednesday.

A reporter asked Blanche if he stood by D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s decision to drop the four cases of vandalism over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and what kind of message it would send if President Trump fired Pirro because she determined there wasn’t enough evidence to charge those people.

“Hypothetically, if the president chose to fire a United States attorney, it turns out he’s allowed to do that, because he’s the president of the United States,” Blanche replied. “And by the way, if the president wanted—if President Trump wanted to fire anybody, right, and within his administration, I mean, he understands he has the power to do that. So when he makes a decision about whether to fire a U.S. attorney or anybody else, that’s his.”

Q: What message does it send if Trump fires a US attorney because she determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge four people with a crime?BLANCHE: If he fires a US attorney, it turns out he's allowed to do that because he's the president pic.twitter.com/divyxVxhZf— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 5, 2026

Q: What message does it send if Trump fires a US attorney because she determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge four people with a crime?BLANCHE: If he fires a US attorney, it turns out he's allowed to do that because he's the president pic.twitter.com/divyxVxhZf

That’s not a ringing endorsement of Pirro, and it shows that Blanche, like Trump, doesn’t believe in federal prosecutors’ independence. If a U.S. attorney is given an order by Trump, they........

© New Republic