By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would likely soon file a lawsuit against Britain’s BBC over its editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
“In a little while, you’ll be seeing I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth. Literally, they put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said coming out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
He added that the lawsuit against Britain’s public broadcaster could be filed on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning.
“We have had no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point,” a BBC spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Trump has indicated he intends to seek billions of dollars in damages related to a BBC documentary examining his role in the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol.
The documentary, which aired on the broadcaster’s flagship “Panorama” news show, spliced together three video excerpts from Trump’s speech, creating the impression he was inciting the riot.
Trump has denied responsibility for the incident, which was aimed at blocking Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win over Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The BBC acknowledged the editing was an “error of judgement” and apologized to Trump, but said there was no legal basis for his claim.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jarrett Renshaw and Muvija M ; Editing by Nia Williams and Jamie Freed)
