President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of misleading editing that made it appear he urged supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The suit, lodged Monday in Miami federal court, seeks $5 billion in damages for each of two counts, alleging both defamation and violation of Florida’s deceptive trade practices law.
The dispute centers on a Panorama documentary aired shortly before the 2024 US presidential election. The program spliced together parts of Trump’s speech including “march on the Capitol” and “fight like hell”while omitting his call for peaceful protest. The BBC has since apologized, admitting an error of judgment and acknowledging the edit gave a false impression, but insists there is no legal basis for Trump’s claim.
Trump’s legal team argues the broadcaster has shown “no actual remorse” and continues a pattern of politically biased coverage. The BBC, funded by mandatory license fees in the UK, faces one of the biggest crises in its 103-year history, with the controversy prompting the resignation of its two most senior officials.
Legal experts note Trump may have chosen to sue in the US because Britain’s one-year statute of limitations for defamation has expired. To succeed, he must prove the edit was false, defamatory, and that the BBC acted knowingly or recklessly. The broadcaster could counter that the documentary was substantially true or that Trump’s reputation was not harmed.
The documentary was never broadcast in the United States, but the fallout has triggered a wider investigation into political bias at the BBC.
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