For the BBC, President Trump’s threat of a $1 billion lawsuit has thrust the already-reeling British broadcaster into uncharted territory. For its American media counterparts, being threatened by the litigious president is familiar terrain. The record of Mr. Trump’s litigation in the United States offers both hope and warning to the BBC, which has been convulsed by the resignation of two top executives, and by uncomfortable questions about its journalism. As in some of the American cases, lawyers said, Mr. Trump would face formidable hurdles if a suit ever went to trial. He would have to persuade a court that a misleadingly edited clip in a BBC documentary caused him to “suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm,” as his lawyer claimed in a letter to the BBC on Sunday.

Source: The Times November 12, 2025 07:39 UTC