Posted in: BBC, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: bbc, trump

BBC Is "Determined to Fight" Donald Trump's Legal Threats: Shah

BBC Chair Samir Shah pushed back on Trump's legal threats, adding that the BBC is "determined to fight" a potential $5 billion lawsuit.

Okay, buckle up because the battle between Donald Trump and his legal team and the BBC is starting to heat up. But first, a brief look back over the past few weeks. Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion (now upped to $5 billion) over how the BBC edited Trump's words for the 2024 Panorama film, "Trump: A Second Chance." The resulting scandal would lead to the resignations of BBC Director General Tim Davie and BBC News Chief Deborah Turness. In addition, BBC Chair Samir Shah would apologize for what was referred to as an "error of judgment," while Turness took responsibility, also defending the journalistic integrity of the BBC.

Meanwhile, Trump's legal team demanded that the BBC "immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements made about President Trump, which were published in a Panorama documentary that was fabricated and aired by the BBC" in a legal filing. In addition, a statement released by Trump's side added, "The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news," giving the BBC until last Friday, November 14, at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT to respond.

Last Thursday, the BBC issued an apology to Trump and his legal team, noting, "we accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action." Once again referring to the move as an "error of judgement," the BBC added that the documentary would not be rebroadcast "in this form on any BBC platforms."

In addition, a spokesperson noted that the BBC had responded in writing to the letter it received from Trump's legal team. "BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president's speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme," they said. After reiterating that Trump: A Second Chance? would no longer be broadcast on any BBC platforms, the rep added, "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."

Heading into the weekend, Trump reiterated his intention to sue the multimedia company, threatening that his legal team could seek up to $5 billion in damages. On Monday, Shah pushed back on Trump's threats in an email to staff spotlighting the controversy. "There is a lot being written, said and speculated upon about the possibility of legal action, including potential costs or settlements. In all this we are, of course, acutely aware of the privilege of our funding and the need to protect our license fee payers, the British public," Shah wrote at one point in the email. "I want to be very clear with you — our position has not changed. There is no basis for a defamation case and we are determined to fight this."

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