Discovery cuts both ways

MeidasTouch writes:

TOTAL BACKFIRE: BBC makes Trump PAY for $10 BILLION defamation lawsuit.

Trump just opened the door to discovery over his actions around January 6th, and the BBC decided to walk right through it.

Donald Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion over its coverage of January 6. Now, the BBC is making it clear that discovery cuts both ways.

The broadcaster has asked the court to require Trump to turn over his phone records, private schedules, daily diaries, and other communications spanning the period from the 2020 election through January 20, 2021.

The BBC argues that if Trump claims its reporting damaged his reputation, then the facts surrounding January 6 are directly relevant. In other words, they’re asking whether Trump’s reputation was harmed by the BBC, or by his own conduct surrounding the Capitol attack.

Gosh, that’s a tough one, isn’t it. No, it isn’t. Yes, it was his own conduct that harmed his reputation. The fact that the American people in their wisdom re-elected him anyway is a separate matter.

Trump’s lawyers are accusing the BBC of trying to turn the defamation lawsuit into a January 6 trial. But that’s how discovery works: when you file a lawsuit seeking billions in damages, you open the door to scrutiny of the claims you’re making.

Trump wanted a $10 billion payday. Instead, his lawsuit could force him to produce records that shine a new spotlight on one of the darkest chapters in presidential history.

Let’s fucking hope so.