US President Donald Trump has threatened the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) with a US$1 billion lawsuit over the “defamatory, malicious” editing of a speech he gave just before the 2021 US Capitol riots.
In a letter to the corporation, his lawyers gave the British broadcaster a deadline of Friday, 14 November, to fully retract the documentary containing the edit, apologise and appropriately compensate the president for the harm caused.
“If the BBC fails to comply, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 in damages,” it said.
The threat of lawsuit comes as BBC chair Samir Shah, apologised for an “error of judgement” over the edit and said the BBC was considering how to respond to Trump.
Earlier on Sunday night, the BBC Director General, Tim Davie, and CEO of News, Deborah Turness, resigned after a leaked memo criticised a 2024 Panorama programme about the US president.
The memo, written by ex-BBC adviser Michael Prescott, said the programme put two parts of Trump’s speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.
In a letter to MPs on the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, Shah said the editing “did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.”
He added it is “simply not true” to say the BBC had done nothing to tackle problems raised, and in a later interview, he insisted there is no systemic bias at the BBC.
Trump’s supporters rioted at the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, in a bid to overturn the certification of his 2020 US presidential election defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.
But the letter from his legal team said that the BBC edit gave a “false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory” impression of what he said in his speech outside the White House.
“Due to their salacious nature, the fabricated statements that were aired by the BBC have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums, which have reached tens of millions of people worldwide,” the letter said.
“Consequently, the BBC has caused President Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team confirmed that a letter had been sent to the BBC but did not give further details.
“The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the presidential election,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.”
Source: Vanguardngr
Asaase Broadcasting Company airs on Asaase 99.5 Accra, Asaase 98.5 Kumasi, Asaase 99.7 Tamale, Asaase 100.3 Cape Coast, AsaasePa 107.3 (Accra).
Affiliates: Bawku FM 101.5, Bead FM 99.9 (Bimbilla), Mining City Radio 89.5 (Tarkwa), Nandom FM 101.9, Nyatefe Radio 94.5 (Dzodze), Sissala Radio 96.3 (Tumu), Somuaa FM 89.9 (Gushegu), Stone City 90.7 (Ho) and Wale FM 106.9 (Walewale).
Listen online: asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn.
Follow us:
X: @asaaseradio995, @Asaase985ksi, @Asaase997tamale, @asaase1003, asaasepa1073
Instagram: asaaseradio99.5, asaase985ksi, asaase100.3, asaase99.7tamale, asaasepa107.3
LinkedIn: company/asaaseradio995. TikTok: @asaaseradio99.5
Facebook: asaase99.5, asaase985ksi, Asaase100.3, asaase99.7, AsaasePa107.3.
YouTube: AsaaseRadioXtra.
Join the conversation. Accra: call 020 000 9951/054 888 8995, WhatsApp 020 000 0995. Kumasi: call 059 415 7985 or call/WhatsApp 020 631 5260. Tamale: call/WhatsApp/SMS 053 554 6468. Cape Coast: call/WhatsApp 059 388 2652.
#AsaaseRadio
#AsaasePa
#TheVoiceofOurLand
