US President Donald Trump says he will file a defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Tuesday over its editing of his January 6 speech.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he will file a lawsuit against the BBC by Tuesday over the editing of his 2021 speech.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the suit would be filed “probably this afternoon or tomorrow morning”.
The move follows his threat last month to file a billion-dollar defamation complaint against the British broadcaster.
“Literally, they put words in my mouth,” the 79-year-old Republican said.
He accused the BBC of using “AI or something” to fabricate his words without providing evidence.
The controversy centres on the broadcaster’s flagship current affairs programme “Panorama”.
Ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, it aired edited clips from Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech to supporters.
The video spliced sections to make it appear he explicitly urged supporters to attack the US Capitol.
Lawmakers were inside certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win at the time.
A firestorm over the edited clip in early November led to the resignation of the BBC’s director-general and top news executive.
The BBC has denied Trump’s claims of legal defamation.
BBC chairman Samir Shah also sent Trump a letter of apology.
The American president has filed or threatened lawsuits against several US media outlets.
These have previously led to multi-million-dollar settlements. – AFP
