The Department of Justice (DOJ) has refused a request for former special counsel Jack Smith to testifying in the BBC's defense of a $10 billion defamation lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump. In a Monday court filing, the DOJ said it had denied the British broadcaster's request to question Smith under oath, citing concerns about grand jury secrecy, classified information and executive privilege. In its letter to BBC lawyers, DOJ attorney Pardis Gheibi wrote: "Upon consideration of your request, the Department rejects it." The decision comes as the BBC seeks evidence concerning Trump's role in the January 6, 2021, U.S.
Capitol riot to defend itself against allegations that a 2024 documentary it broadcast falsely portrayed the president encouraging his supporters to engage in violence. Trump sued the BBC for defamation in December 2025. The BBC has apologized and acknowledged the program's editing created a false impression that the president directly called for violent action but denied that it amounts to defamation or entitles Trump to damages.
Newsweek has contacted the BBC and DOJ for comment via email. The BBC subpoenaed Smith on October 1, seeking to question him regarding evidence gathered during his investigation into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In an October 28 letter to the DOJ, the BBC argued that Smith possessed information relevant to whether Trump intended to encourage violence on January 6 and whether his audience could have reasonably interpreted his speech that way.
"It is difficult to imagine a more authoritative source on these issues than Mr. Smith, who spent years gathering evidence on those topics with the force of DOJ and the power of the grand jury behind him," lawyers for the BBC wrote. The BBC also pointed out that the DOJ authorized Smith to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September.
However, the DOJ argued that Smith lacked firsthand knowledge of January 6 and that his testimony could reveal confidential investigative information. Under federal regulations known as the Touhy regulations, current and former DOJ employees cannot disclose certain official information in response to a subpoena without prior departmental approval. Lawyers for the DOJ wrote that "any purported “need” for such second-hand knowledge cannot outweigh the department’s significant interest in preserving the confidentiality of materials subject to law enforcement privilege and executive privilege." Trump filed his lawsuit in December 2025 following reporting from British newspaper The Telegraph reported a leaked internal BBC memo criticizing the documentary's editing.
The legal dispute concerns an October 2024 episode of Panorama, titled Trump: A Second Chance?, which edited together two sections of Trump's January 6 speech in Washington given shortly before rioters breached the Capitol. The documentary showed Trump encouraging supporters to walk to the Capitol, followed immediately by the words "fight like hell," though the remarks were made more than 50 minutes apart. Trump's complaint alleges that he was defamed by the program and that it violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
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