A federal judge recently nominated by President Trump has been assigned to oversee the $10 billion defamation case that Trump filed against the BBC.
Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, who was nominated by Trump in April and confirmed by the Senate in July, will now preside over the lawsuit. He replaces Judge Roy Altman, who was also previously nominated by Trump. Kuntz's appointment to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida marks his involvement in one of 17 cases transferred to him following his confirmation.
The defamation case stems from a BBC Panorama program that edited a speech given by Trump outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. Trump's legal team has argued the editing misrepresented his speech. The BBC has since apologized for editing together two different sections of the speech but has also requested the case be dismissed, contending the program did not meet the legal criteria for defamation and that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction.
Trump's lawsuit is currently scheduled for a jury trial in February 2027. On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised Kuntz's prior work as a Florida appeals court judge, describing him as "TOUGH and SMART and delivered strong results."
Prior Legal Involvements
As a Florida appeals judge, Kuntz was involved in another defamation case brought by Trump. In February 2025, he was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in Trump's favor, allowing him to continue a lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board. This case involves the New York Times and the Washington Post being honored for reporting on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and is ongoing.
Kuntz's appointment to the federal bench in April drew accusations of a potential conflict of interest, as it emerged he had been in discussions about a federal court appointment while presiding over the Pulitzer case. Kuntz stated that Florida judicial ethics rules did not require him to recuse himself, and he was only contacted by the White House about the federal appointment after he had issued his legal opinion.
Kuntz's tenure as an appeals judge also saw him involved in a variety of other cases, including proceedings related to the release of information from grand jury investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and a case concerning whether a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting could sue a security company that employed the shooter.