President Donald Trump has sued the BBC for defamation over a documentary that his lawyers say presents a “false and defamatory” portrayal of him.
On Monday night, Trump’s lawyers filed a civil complaint in a federal court in Florida, seeking at least $5 billion in damages from the British broadcaster.
The lawsuit claims that the BBC has defamed Trump in a Panorama documentary that aired about a week before the 2024 election, called “Trump: A Second Chance.” The complaint alleges the program presented a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction” of Trump.
The suit’s allegations focus on how the documentary was edited, specifically regarding footage of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech near the White House.
The filing included correspondence that Trump and the BBC’s legal team exchanged in November.
Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, wrote a letter to the BBC on November 9, demanding that it retract “false and defamatory statements” about Trump. Brito threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion if it did not comply.
The BBC’s legal team wrote back on November 13, saying that the BBC had “no intention of misleading anyone” and included a copy of the outlet’s apology letter to Trump. The correspondence said that Trump did not have a basis for a defamation claim.
In a separate online statement on the same day, the BBC said the outlet and its chair, Samir Shah, were “sorry for the edit of the President’s speech on 6 January 2021.”
“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms,” the statement said. “While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”
The White House and the BBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
