President Donald J. Trump delivers remarks to supporters gathered to protest Congress’ upcoming certification of Joe Biden as the next president on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. Trump is theatening to sue the BBC over how his speech was edited. File Pool photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump is threatening a $1 billion lawsuit against the BBC over how the media organization edited video of him speaking to supporters outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brit, wrote a letter to the British-based outlet demanding a retraction of a BBC Panorama documentary by Friday or face a lawsuit of “no less” than $1 billion. Fox News published the letter. The BBC confirmed receipt of it.
“Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that the BBC has caused him to suffer, with all rights and remedies being expressly reserved by President Trump,” the letter said.
If the deadline is not met, “President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages,” Brit wrote.
The defamation allegations are based on Florida law, where Trump is a legal resident.
A BBC spokesperson responded to The Hill: “We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.”
The Telegraph, also based in Britain, reported on a leaked internal report by a former BBC standards adviser about failings in the broadcaster’s coverage. The report criticized the speech, as well as coverage on transgender issues and Gaza.
The documentary, titled Trump: A Second Chance, was first broadcast on Oct. 28, 2024, a week before the 2024 presidential election won by Trump. He returned to the White House on Jan. 21.
“The BBC intentionally sought to completely mislead its viewers by splicing together three separate parts of President Trump’s speech to supporters,” the letter said. “The documentary showed President Trump telling supporters: ‘We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol, and I’ll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.'”
According to the letter, Trump actually said, “We’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down, we’re going to walk down any one of you but I think right here, we’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”
The report also edited out Trump saying, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
BBC director general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness then resigned.
BBC Chair Samir Shah on Monday apologized for the editing of the Trump speech, calling it an “error of judgment.” In the letter Shah didn’t know whether there would be legal action.
“I will personally ensure that the BBC continues to take the necessary actions in the future to ensure the BBC retains the trust and confidence of the public we serve,” Shah said.
On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social with a link to the article: “Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt ‘Journalists.’ These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”
Trump also posted other articles about the Telegraph report.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Office denied the BBC was “corrupt” or “institutionally biased.”
“The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack,” BBC veteran John Simpson wrote on X Sunday night. “We’ve now got a real fight on our hands to defend public service broadcasting, because that’s under threat too.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X her Saturday interview with the Telegraph, which she captioned with “shot” and the BBC article announcing Davie’s resignation, captioned with “chaser.”
One month after the protest, Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for “incitement of insurrection” related to the storming of the Capitol by rioters, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
In August 2023, Trump was indicted on federal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his involvement in the attack. The case was dismissed on Nov. 25, 2024, after he was re-elected president because of the Department of Justice policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump has sent letters to other news organizations threatening lawsuits over their coverage. There are pending suits against the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Des Moines Register. He settled with Disney’s ABC and Paramount’s CBS. The one against CBS involved the editing of an interview of his presidential campaign opponent Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes.
