US President Donald Trump has sued the BBC for defamation over a documentary that included edited clips of his speech to supporters ahead of the 2021 Capitol riots.
Trump is seeking $10 billion (about €8.5 billion) in damages from the British public broadcaster.
Their lawsuit alleges that the BBC violated a Florida law that prohibits unfair trade practices.
The US leader accused the BBC of defaming him by combining two separate excerpts from his January 6, 2021 speech, giving the impression that he was inciting a riot.
The allegations led to the resignation of BBC director general Tim Davie and news chief executive Deborah Turnness last month.
What does Trump’s lawsuit against BBC say?
The lawsuit – which covers 33 pages – was filed in Miami federal court on Monday.
It alleges that the BBC broadcast “a false, defamatory, misleading, insulting, inflammatory and malicious portrayal of President Trump.”
Trump’s lawsuit accuses the BBC of making a “brazen attempt to interfere and influence” the 2024 US presidential election.
It seeks damages in the amount of “not less than $5 billion” (approximately €4.2 billion) for each of two counts of alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Where does the BBC stand on the controversy?
BBC had apologized to Trump, accepting the mistake in the decision.
It acknowledged that editing of the clip mistakenly gave the impression that Trump had made a direct call for violence before the riot.
However, the broadcaster has said there is no legal basis to file a lawsuit.
Trump’s lawsuit says that despite his apology, the BBC “has shown no genuine remorse for its wrongdoing nor made meaningful institutional changes to prevent future journalistic abuses.”
The documentary at the center of Trump’s legal action was broadcast by the BBC’s flagship Panorama programme.
This led to one of the biggest crises the publicly funded broadcaster has seen in its 103-year history.
The documentary came under question after an internal dossier was leaked, raising concerns over how it was edited, which is part of a wider investigation into political bias at the UK-based broadcaster.
The documentary was not broadcast in the United States.
The broadcaster said it had no plans to rerun the documentary on any of its platforms.
Edited by: Kieran Burke