Judge Appointed by Trump Assumes Role in High-Profile Case

Jeffrey Kuntz, a judge nominated by Donald Trump in April and confirmed by the Republican-led Senate with a 51-46 majority last month, has now taken over as judge in Trump’s $10bn defamation case against the BBC.

Kuntz replaces Judge Roy Altman, who had also been nominated by Trump in 2019. Altman was previously overseeing the case in which Trump is suing the BBC over the way its Panorama programme edited a speech he gave outside the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021.

This case is one of 17 transferred to Kuntz following his appointment to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida in July.

Trump Praises Judge’s Record; Case Scheduled for 2027 Trial

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised Kuntz for his work in Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, stating, ‘Jeffrey has been TOUGH and SMART and delivered strong results for the Sunshine State.’

Trump’s case against the BBC is currently scheduled for a trial in February 2027. The president has requested a jury trial in the case.

The BBC has previously apologised for editing together two different sections of the speech given by Trump before the 2021 Capitol riots. However, the broadcaster has asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the programme did not meet the legal criteria for defamation and that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction over the corporation, as the programme was not available there.

Previous Involvement in Similar Cases and Ethics Concerns

Kuntz’s appointment in April by Trump prompted accusations of a conflict of interest from opponents, as it emerged he had been in discussions about a potential federal court appointment at the time of a separate case involving the Pulitzer Prize board.

In that case, Kuntz was one of three judges who ruled in Trump’s favour in February 2025, allowing the president to continue a lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize board, which had honored the New York Times and Washington Post for reporting on purported Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The case is ongoing.

Kuntz stated that Florida judicial ethics rules had not required him to step aside from the case, and he was only contacted by the White House after he had given his legal opinion.

As an appeals judge, Kuntz was also involved in a wide variety of other cases, ranging from the release of information from grand jury proceedings about late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to whether a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting could sue a security company that trained and employed the shooter.