“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn’t say, and the beautiful words that I said, right, the beautiful words talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said, they didn’t say that,” Trump said on Monday.
President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, claiming that the United Kingdom-based broadcaster defamed him by “deceptively” editing segments of a speech made on January 6, 2021.
The BBC has since said that it will fight the lawsuit. In a statement, representatives for the company said that intends to defend itself but cannot otherwise comment on pending litigation.
“As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case,” the BBC told Reuters. “We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
Filed in federal court on Monday, Trump’s 33-page lawsuit claims that a BBC documentary that aired about one week before the 2024 presidential election was “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the Election’s outcome to President Trump’s detriment.”
The BBC is named as a defendant along with BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. and BBC Studios Productions Ltd., the latter listed as co-producers of “Trump: A Second Chance.”
Trump’s attorneys claim that the BBC intentionally spliced together parts of the president’s speech on January 6. During one scene, Trump can be heard and seen urging his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol; this scene is followed by another in which Trump tells them to “fight like hell.” The lawsuit notes that, in reality, the two comments were made nearly an hour apart.
The lawsuit further alleges that the documentary is deceptive, in part, because it glosses over Trump’s supposed attempts to maintain public order. “I know everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” Trump said in his speech.
Charles B. Tobin, an attorney for the BBC, wrote in a letter last month to Trump’s legal team that his “client had no intention of misleading anyone.” Tobin emphasized that the BBC had, by the time of the lawsuit’s filing, already issued a public correction, sent a personal apology to Trump, and published a retraction on its website.
The BBC’s chairman, Samir Shah, also acknowledged that the documentary’s editing “gave the mistaken impression” that Trump “made a direct call for violent action.” Shah subsequently apologized for “that error of judgment.”
Trump, for his part, said that he is suing the BBC “for putting words in my mouth.”
“They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with Jan. 6 that I didn’t say, and the beautiful words that I said, right, the beautiful words talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said, they didn’t say that,” Trump said on Monday.
Sources
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Trump’s BBC lawsuit: A botched report, BritBox, and porn
Trump files $10 billion defamation lawsuit against BBC over edited clips of his Jan. 6 speech
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