US President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for libel over the editing of his January 6, 2021 speech in the Panorama documentary.
Trump accused the network of defamation and violating trade practices laws, according to court documents filed in Florida. He demanded $5 billion (£3.7 billion) in damages for each of the two claims.
In November, the BBC apologized to Trump but rejected his demands for compensation and did not agree that there was any “cause of action for libel.”
Trump's legal team accused the BBC of defaming him by “deliberately, maliciously and fraudulently misrepresenting his speech.” The BBC has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Last month, Trump said he plans to sue the BBC. for a documentary broadcast in the UK ahead of the 2024 US elections.
“I think I should do it,” Trump told reporters of his plans. “They cheated. They changed the words that came out of my mouth.”
In a speech on January 6, 2021, before the riot at the US Capitol, Trump told the crowd: “We are going to go down to the Capitol and cheer on our brave senators, congressmen and women.”
More than 50 minutes into his speech, he said: “And we fight. We fight like hell.”
In the Panorama program, in a clip, he said: “We are going to go down to the Capitol… and I will be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.”
The BBC admitted that its editors had given the “erroneous impression” that he was “directly calling for violent action”.
