US President Donald Trump has said that he intends to sue the BBC for between $1 billion and $5 billion after the broadcaster apologised for a misleading edit of one of his speeches but refused to pay damages.
"We'll sue them for anywhere between a billion and five billion dollars, probably some time next week. I think I have to do it. They've even admitted that they cheated," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
His lawyers had sent the BBC a letter on Monday accusing it of defaming the president with the edited video of his remarks ahead of the 2021 US Capitol riot, giving the broadcaster until Friday to apologise and pay compensation.
The BBC acknowledged the error earlier this week but said it would not pay damages.
Trump’s threat to sue the BBC stems from a Panorama documentary that used a misleading edit of his 2021 speech on the day of the US Capitol riot.
A leaked memo published by the Telegraph said the programme spliced together two parts of the speech — nearly an hour apart — in a way that made Trump appear to be urging supporters towards violence.
The BBC later admitted an "error of judgement," with outgoing Director General Tim Davie acknowledging "an editorial breach," and BBC Chairman Samir Shah issuing an apology.
Trump’s legal team now accuses the broadcaster of intentionally misleading viewers and causing "overwhelming financial and reputational harm."
Denies knowledge of Epstein email
Asked about an email written in 2019 by Jeffrey Epstein in which the disgraced financier said "of course he knew about the girls," Trump said he knew "nothing" about the message.
"I know nothing about that. They would have announced that a long time ago," he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The new scrutiny around Epstein emails follows the release of correspondence obtained by the House Oversight Committee.
In the emails, disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein wrote that Trump had "spent hours at my house" with one of Epstein’s victims, and claimed Trump "knew about the girls."
Democrats said the messages raise new questions about Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
Republicans released the remaining emails, accusing Democrats of selectively publishing material referring to Trump.
They also identified the victim in the emails as Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year and had previously said she never witnessed Trump abusing minors.
The White House dismissed the emails as politically motivated, arguing Trump had expelled Epstein from his club "decades ago."
