Trump sues BBC for $10 billion, accusing it of defamation for editing his Jan. 6 speech
FILE-President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America Rally" near the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion, accusing the news outlet of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Trump’s lawsuit was filed in a Florida court, seeking $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices, the Associated Press reported.
Trump’s BBC lawsuit
What they're saying:
President Trump told reporters on Dec. 15 that he was filing a lawsuit against 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 they’re beautiful words, that I said, right?" Trump told reporters unprompted during an appearance in the Oval Office. "They’re beautiful words, talking about patriotism and all of the good things that I said. They didn’t say that, but they put terrible words," the Associated Press reported.
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Dig deeper:
In the 33-page lawsuit, obtained by the AP, Trump is accusing the BBC of broadcasting a "false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump," referring to it as "a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence" the 2024 presidential election.
The lawsuit also accuses the BBC of combining portions of Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, to "intentionally misrepresent" what the president said.
Trump’s speech happened before many of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021 as Congress prepared to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.
BBC statement on lawsuit
The other side:
A BBC spokesperson said in a statement, posted on the news outlet’s website saying: "As we have made clear previously, we will be defending this case."
"We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings," the statement added.
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The news organization broadcasted a documentary — titled "Trump: A Second Chance?" — days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
According to the Associated Press, the BBC combined three quotes from two sections of President Donald Trump’s 2021 speech, delivered nearly an hour apart, into what apparently was one quote in which the president urged supporters to march with him and "fight like hell." Some of the parts removed from his remarks was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
In November, the BBC apologized to Trump for the edit of his Jan. 6 speech, but the organization refuted assertions that it defamed him.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, which obtained a copy of Trump’s lawsuit filed against the BBC. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.