Trump Files $10B Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC Over Jan 6 Speech Edit

(Press Association via AP Images)

President Donald Trump filed his long-promised $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over a documentary broadcast that aired just days before the 2024 election, which edited a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021.

Court documents filed late Monday in a Miami federal court seek $5 billion in damages for defamation and a further $5 billion over alleged violations of trade practices. In the 46-page filing, Trump’s team argue the edit gave the “mistaken impression” he called for violence on that day.

The footage used in the broadcaster’s Panorama documentary spliced together two separate clips, creating the impression Trump told supporters: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol… and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”

Speaking in Washington DC, the president accused the broadcaster of “putting terrible words in my mouth that I didn’t say” and claimed the BBC “may have used AI” in its investigative Panorama show. He later added: “They actually have me speaking with words that I never said, and they got caught… Let’s call [it] fake news.”

In a statement to The New York Times, Trump’s legal team said: “The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.”

The fallout has already triggered resignations at the top of the BBC, including director general Tim Davie and BBC News CEO Deborah Turness. BBC Chair Samir Shah has apologized for an “error of judgment,” but insisted there is “no basis for a defamation case” and that the corporation is “determined to fight this.”

Trump’s action follows a string of high-profile legal battles launched against U.S.-based media outlets, including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.