DONALD Trump’s multi-billion pound trial against the BBC will go ahead next year after the broadcaster failed to get it thrown out in court.
The US president demanded a whopping £7.5bn in damages in a libel lawsuit after the corporation doctored one of his speeches.
The spliced Panorama clips made Trump appear to direct his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6 2021.
Trump has previously stated that he has an “obligation” to take legal action, despite the broadcaster already apologising for its mistake.
His lawsuit alleges that the BBC defamed him and violated a law in Florida banning deceptive and unfair trade practices.
The US leader is seeking at least $5 billion in damages for each count.
However, the broadcaster said it would defend the case and would seek to have it dismissed.
It argued that the court lacked jurisdiction because it did not broadcast the programme in Florida.
Beeb officials also claimed the president could not prove damages because he was re-elected after it aired.
But a judge in Florida denied the British broadcaster’s application, court documents show.
District Judge Roy Altman has now set a trial date in Trump’s multi-billion dollar defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster.
The order, made on February 11, said: “This matter is set for trial during the Court’s two-week trial calendar beginning February 15, 2027.”
Beeb officials later confirmed the Panorama programme would “not be broadcast again in this form or on any BBC platforms”.
In the Newsnight edit, Trump is presented saying: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol.
“And we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. And we fight. We fight like hell.
“And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore.”
A voiceover from presenter Kirsty Wark followed saying “and fight they did” over a clip of the Capitol riot.
The broadcaster later issued a grovelling apology to the US President.
It said: “This programme was reviewed after criticism of how President Donald Trump‘s 6th January 2021 speech was edited.
“During that sequence, we showed excerpts taken from different parts of the speech.
“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…
“… that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.
“The BBC would like to apologise to President Trump for that error of judgement.”
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