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The BBC has not heard from President Donald Trump’s legal team since he told reporters about plans to file a lawsuit over a controversial Jan. 6 documentary, and the British broadcaster continues to insist its conduct does not rise to the level of defamation.
The British news organization has been hit with criticism over a BBC "Panorama" documentary about Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech that he delivered before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Critics believe the documentary was misleading because it omitted Trump urging supporters to protest "peacefully," and stitched together remarks the president made nearly an hour apart to make it appear like one long statement.
Last week, the BBC apologized to Trump and said it has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary, but stopped short of owning up to defaming the president. "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," a BBC spokesperson said.
TRUMP PLANNING LAWSUIT OF UP TO $5 BILLION AGAINST BBC OVER EDITED JAN 6 SPEECH DOCUMENTARY
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday that he planned to take legal action against the BBC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
This prompted Trump to tell reporters on Air Force One on Friday that he planned to take legal action.
"We'll sue them for anywhere between a billion and $5 billion probably sometime next week," Trump said.
Trump’s legal team has not contacted the BBC about any potential lawsuit since the president’s comments, according to the network.
"We have had no further contact from President Trump’s lawyers at this point. Our position remains the same," a BBC spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Monday.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s Air Force One comments, implying a lawsuit remained imminent.
Last week, the BBC apologized to President Donald Trump and said it has "no plans" to rebroadcast the documentary at the center of a legal threat. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)
The saga has already led to the resignations of BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC Director-General Tim Davie.
Prior to the BBC’s apology, Trump’s litigation counsel sent a notice of intent to bring a civil action lawsuit to BBC Chair Samir Shah, along with general counsel Sarah Jones. The letter, which was first obtained by Fox News Digital, demands that "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements" made about Trump must be retracted immediately.
BBC APOLOGIZES TO TRUMP AMID $1 BILLION LEGAL THREAT
Trump’s legal team demanded the BBC offer "a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published," an immediate apology and compensation.
The BBC responded with its apology, but it doesn’t appear that Trump is satisfied.
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Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson, David Rutz and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @briansflood.
