BBC Faces $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit From Trump Over Edited Capitol Riot Speech

The BBC has formally announced its intention to contest the $10-billion lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump regarding a documentary that allegedly manipulated his 2021 speech prior to the US Capitol riot.

"As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case," a BBC spokesperson confirmed in an official statement provided to AFP, adding that the organization would refrain from making "further comment on ongoing legal proceedings."

The legal action, submitted in federal court in Miami, demands "damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000" for each of two separate counts against the British broadcaster, alleging both defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The controversial video that prompted the lawsuit combined two distinct sections of Trump's January 6, 2021 speech in a manner that created the impression he explicitly encouraged supporters to storm the Capitol, where lawmakers were in the process of certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

This legal challenge coincides with the UK government's politically sensitive review of the BBC's Royal Charter, which outlines the corporation's funding structure and governance framework, requiring renewal by 2027.

As part of this review process, the government has initiated a public consultation addressing various issues, including the importance of "accuracy" within the BBC's mission and controversial reforms to the corporation's funding model, which presently relies on a mandatory license fee for television viewers across the United Kingdom.

Minister Stephen Kinnock emphasized after the lawsuit filing that the UK government "is a massive supporter of the BBC".

The BBC has "been very clear that there is no case to answer in terms of Mr Trump's accusation on the broader point of libel or defamation. I think it's right the BBC stands firm on that point," Kinnock stated in a Tuesday interview with Sky News.

Trump, 79, had previously indicated the lawsuit was forthcoming, claiming the BBC had "put words in my mouth" and suggesting "they used AI or something."

The documentary in question aired last year before the 2024 election on the BBC's flagship current affairs program "Panorama".

"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," a spokesperson representing Trump's legal team declared in a statement to AFP.

"The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda," the statement further alleged.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, whose audience extends globally beyond the United Kingdom, experienced significant internal turmoil last month after media reports brought renewed attention to the edited clip.

The resulting scandal led to the resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and the organization's senior news executive, Deborah Turness.

Trump's lawsuit claims the edited speech in the documentary was "fabricated and aired by the Defendants one week before the 2024 Presidential Election in a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the Election's outcome to President Trump's detriment."

While the BBC has rejected Trump's claims of legal defamation, BBC chairman Samir Shah has sent Trump a formal letter of apology.

Shah also acknowledged to a UK parliamentary committee last month that the broadcaster should have acted more promptly to recognize its error after the mistake was disclosed in a memo subsequently leaked to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

This BBC lawsuit represents the latest in a series of legal actions Trump has initiated against media organizations in recent years, several of which have resulted in multi-million-dollar settlements.