A Trump-appointed federal judge green-lit a legal maneuver that could shield President Donald Trump's financial records from disclosure.
U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman of the Southern District of Florida issued the ruling in Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
The ruling came one day before a court-ordered deadline that would have forced Trump's trust to hand over tax returns, financial statements, and ownership records for roughly 400 business entities, according to court documents.
According to Forbes, the subpoena covered individual Trump properties, Trump Media & Technology Group, the Trump Organization, crypto company World Liberty Financial, intellectual property, and personal assets including jewelry and art.
Trump's trust filed an emergency motion the day before the deadline, asking Altman to block enforcement of the order, according to court filings.
The deadline Trump's team was racing to beat had been set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, who issued a written order July 27 compelling the Trust to produce the records because Trump's own lawsuit put his finances directly at issue.
"All of President Trump's brand, properties, and businesses are impugned…and result in both economic and reputational damage, all of that is now at issue in the case," Lett said at the July 27 discovery hearing, according to court transcripts.
Trump's legal team had a counter-move ready, court filings show.
They filed an amended complaint that dropped claims of damage to Trump's brands and businesses, narrowing the suit to personal reputational harm only — which, they argued, made Lett's financial disclosure order moot, the filings show.
"[E]ven if there has been a harm to the brand, we are not pursuing that as part of our damages…It is simply the reputational injury to the President, full stop," Trump's attorney said at the July 27 hearing, according to court transcripts.
The same attorneys represent both Trump and the Trust, the court filings indicate.
The BBC's response was to accuse Trump's team of engineering the move specifically to escape financial scrutiny.
"[The] Plaintiff is transparently seeking amendment to recast his damages allegations in hopes of avoiding his discovery obligations. The Court should not reward this gamesmanship…" the BBC argued in its court filing.
Altman accepted the maneuver, but warned it "won't necessarily obviate the need for certain financial disclosures" — because Trump's $10 billion damages demand remains intact, the ruling shows.
The case is set for trial on February 15, 2027, according to court records.
