Trump sues BBC over January 6 speech editing

US President Donald Trump has sued the BBC for defamation over edited footage of a January 6, 2021 speech, accusing the British broadcaster of falsely portraying him as encouraging violence during the attack on the US Capitol.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal court in Miami, alleges that the BBC spliced together excerpts of Trump’s speech in a way that suggested he urged supporters to storm the Capitol.

Trump says the broadcaster omitted remarks in which he called for peaceful protest.

Trump argues the editing damaged his reputation and violated a Florida law prohibiting deceptive and unfair trade practices.

He is seeking $5 billion in damages on each of two counts, totalling up to $10 billion.

The BBC has apologised to Trump and acknowledged an error of judgement, saying the edited clip created a mistaken impression that he had directly called for violent action.

However, the broadcaster has said there is no legal basis for the lawsuit.

In the filing, Trump said the BBC’s apology showed no "actual remorse" or evidence of institutional changes to prevent similar incidents.

A BBC spokesperson said earlier on Monday that the broadcaster had "no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point" and that its position remained unchanged.

Huge crises

The edited footage appeared in a "Panorama" documentary broadcast shortly before the 2024 US presidential election.

The programme was not aired in the United States.

The controversy triggered one of the biggest crises in the BBC’s history, leading to the resignation of its two most senior officials.

The broadcaster has said it does not plan to rebroadcast the documentary on any of its platforms.

The BBC is funded through a mandatory television licence fee, a factor that UK lawyers say could complicate any potential damages award.

Trump’s lawyers say the broadcaster caused him significant reputational and financial harm.

The documentary came under scrutiny after the leak of an internal BBC memo from an external standards adviser raising concerns about its editing.

Trump may have chosen to sue in the United States because defamation claims in Britain must be filed within a year of publication, a deadline that has passed for the "Panorama" episode.

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Source: TRT