The Latest: Trump sues BBC for defamation, asks for $10 billion in damages over Jan. 6 speech edit

Audio By Carbonatix

President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.

The lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

It accused the BCC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”

The BBC apologized last month to Trump over the edit of his speech but said it had not defamed him.

The speech took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

Here's the latest:

The BBC had broadcast an hourlong documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It included parts of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech, which took place before some of Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.

The BBC spliced together three quotes from two sections of the speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Trump filed a lawsuit Monday seeking $10 billion in damages from the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices.

The lawsuit accuses the BBC of broadcasting a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

It accused the BBC of “splicing together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021” in order to ”intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said.”

Kilmar Abrego Garcia wasn’t an activist and he didn’t choose to become locked into what has become one of the most contentious immigration issues of the Trump administration, his lawyer told The Associated Press.

But as he experiences some of the few days he’s had with his family since being sent erroneously to an El Salvador prison in March, his lawyer said he’s still hoping for a just resolution to his case.

“He’s been through a lot, and he’s still fighting,” said his lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg during an interview with AP following Abrego Garcia’s court-ordered release from detention last week. “What it is he can fight for is circumscribed by the law and by the great power of the United States government, but he’s still fighting.”

Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation to El Salvador helped galvanize opposition to Trump’s immigration policies. He was held in a notoriously brutal prison there despite having no criminal record.

▶ Read more about Abrego Garcia’s case

The attorney’s letter comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of the Democratic senator who was among a group of lawmakers in a video calling on military personnel to defy “illegal orders.”

“There is no legitimate basis for any type of proceeding against Senator Kelly, and any such effort would be unconstitutional and an extraordinary abuse of power,” wrote Paul J. Fishman in the letter to Navy Secretary John Phelan.

Trump himself had lashed out at the lawmakers, who all have military backgrounds after years of service.

Kelly’s attorney warned of legal action if the department sought to pursue the senator in any forum — “criminal, disciplinary, or administrative.”

Fishman wrote they would “take all appropriate legal action on Senator Kelly’s behalf to halt the Administration’s unprecedented and dangerous overreach.”

In its Monday court filing, the Trump administration included a declaration from the deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service saying more work on the site of the former White House East Wing is still needed to meet the agency’s “safety and security requirements.”

The administration has offered to share classified details with the judge in-person without the plaintiffs present.

The project has prompted criticism in the historic preservation and architectural communities, and among Trump’s political adversaries, but the lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded group, is the most tangible effort thus far to alter or stop the 90,000-square-foot (8,361-square-meter) addition.

The lawsuit seeks to block construction until the project goes through comprehensive design reviews, environmental assessments, public comments and congressional debate and ratification.

For that reason, the construction project must continue, the Trump administration said in a court filing Monday.

The filing came in response to a lawsuit filed last Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation asking a federal judge to halt the project until it goes through multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress.

The order instructs the State and Treasury departments to pursue the financial assets of and sanctions on financial institutions and groups involved in fentanyl trafficking. It also calls for greater cooperation between the Pentagon and Justice Department on fentanyl and drug trafficking issues.

The order directs the homeland security secretary to “identify threat networks related to fentanyl smuggling” by using intelligence resources that in the past were devoted to the detection of other weapons of mass destruction.

The federal government by law has a wide range of national security and law enforcement capabilities to combat drug smuggling, including asset forfeiture, targeted arrests and surveillance of criminal organizations.

The Trump administration’s earlier this year designated some drug cartels as terror groups, a move that may unlock more coordination between the armed forces and domestic law enforcement but has been questioned by legal analysts over its scope and legality.

A Wisconsin judge has ruled there is enough evidence to proceed to trial in a felony forgery case against an attorney and an aide to President Donald Trump related to action taken after 2020 election.

The judge on Monday at a preliminary hearing found there was probable cause to proceed with the charges after taking testimony from a special agent with the state Department of Justice who detailed the allegations.

The charges relate to attempts by the former aides to present a slate of Republican electors to Congress falsely claiming that Trump had won Wisconsin that year.

Former Trump attorney Jim Troupis and former Trump aide Mike Roman were in court for the hearing but did not testify. The judge postponed the preliminary hearing for a third person charged, Ken Chesebro, amid questions about what comments he made to prosecutors could be admitted in court.

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s group Advancing American Freedom on Monday called on Trump to fire Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over what the group argues has been a slow-walked safety review of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.

Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary have pledged to review the drug’s safety but are facing mounting pressure from abortion opponents to move more quickly. Mifepristone, which was approved 25 years ago, has repeatedly been deemed safe and effective by FDA scientists.

In a statement alongside Monday’s memo, the Republican Pence accused Kennedy of being unable or unwilling to keep promises to abortion opponents and said he should step aside.

The attacks come as Kennedy has faced criticism from both sides but also waves of support as he seeks to dramatically reshape the nation’s health agencies and target vaccines.

The two countries agreed to a ceasefire in July, and formalized the deal in October when Trump was in Malaysia. But lately, fighting has resumed. Trump on Friday said he had called the leaders and got them to agree to another truce -- but officials said heavy combat continues.

Nevertheless, Trump on Monday said in the Oval Office that “we were able to straighten that out.”

The two countries were “having a little problem yesterday,” Trump said. “I called them and I said, ‘look, fellas, relax. You gotta take it easy.’ They started the war again, and I got it ended.”

President Donald Trump said he feels “so badly” about Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong media mogul who on Monday was convicted in a landmark national security case.

Lai, 78, now could spend the rest of his life in prison. On Monday, Trump confirmed that he has brought up Lai’s case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and asked for Lai’s release.

“I spoke to President XI about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump said. “He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”

In London and Washington, Jimmy Lai’s children have expressed gratitude for the support from the Trump administration.

Trump touted the win by Kast, a far right conversative who comfortably defeated his left-of-center opponent in Sunday’s election, as a sign of his broader influence on politics across the Western Hemisphere.

“I look forward to pay my respects to him here,” Trump said of Kast. “He’s a very good person.”

Kast is the most conservative candidate to win Chile’s presidential election in 35 years. He won 58.2% of the votes on a campaign heavily centered on crime and immigration.

Trump said Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa “feels very badly” about an attack over the weekend that claimed the lives of two Iowa National Guard members and a U.S. civilian.

Trump said the attack happened in a region of Syria that the new government doesn’t control.

“This had nothing to do with him,” said Trump, speaking of al-Sharaa. He hosted al-Sharaa at the White House in November.

“He feels very badly about it. He’s working on it. He’s a strong man, and this had nothing to do with the Syrian government,” Trump said.

The U.S. military and Trump have blamed the attack on the Islamic State group. Trump has threatened to retaliate.

Trump defended the FBI after a mass shooting at Brown University, arguing that questions about the case should be directed to officials at the Ivy League school in Rhode Island.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that authorities do not yet know a motive in the shooting that killed two and injured others.

Pressed about why the FBI has not been able to identify a shooter, Trump called it a “school problem.” Brown “had their own guards, they had their own police and their own everything,” he said.

Trump told reporters to “ask that question, really, to the school, not to the FBI,” which he said “came in after the fact.”

He said the FBI “will do a good job,” and cited the Charlie Kirk assassination as an example. In that case, the alleged killer’s family helped turn him in to authorities.

“We are considering the idea because a lot of people want to see it,” the president said.

Trump had said in August that he was reviewing whether the federal government should reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Such a step could move the federal government closer to an approach already embraced by many states.

“We are looking at that very strongly,” Trump said at the White House.

The president was asked if he stood by his social media post in light of the pushback he was getting, including from those in his own party.

Using the third person, Trump said Reiner “was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned.”

“I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way shape or form,” Trump said. “I thought he was very bad for our country.”

He signed the order in the Oval Office on Monday while flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, White House border czar Tom Homan and other top military officials.

Trump says his administration is “formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, which is what it is. No bomb does what this is doing.”

It was not immediately clear how the new designation would affect administration policy or what the legal implications would be for those impacted by fentanyl use or drug traffickers.

The term weapon of mass destruction has typically referred to nuclear, biological, chemical or kinetic threats capable of causing overwhelming and lasting damage to a population, infrastructure or environment. The term has also been hotly debated in American politics since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The president is in the Oval Office with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump border czar Tom Homan, all of them hailing the border defense portion of his immigration crackdown.

Military commanders and the award recipients looked on as Trump, Hegseth and Homan declared the border secure. Trump said his administration has “stopped the invasion in its tracks, and we are dismantling the cartels very rapidly.”

He added many hits from his 2024 campaign speech, blasting the immigration policies of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, and declaring migrants who crossed the border “some of the worst people on Earth.”

Homan praised “greatest president of my lifetime – yes, I said it.” Hegseth said the medal is a reprisal of a military honor awarded previously in the early 20th century

“I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever,” Trump said while recapping war talks in Europe at the start of an unrelated White House event.

Trump said he had a “long talk” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also spoke with the leaders of several European countries, including Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom as well as NATO.

“Things are going along pretty well,” the president said.

Trump said everyone wants to see the war end.

The president’s upcoming trip to Rocky Mount was confirmed by Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, a close Trump ally who was chair of the Republican National Committee during the 2024 election.

“Let’s give him the North Carolina welcome he deserves,” Whatley wrote on social media. Whatley did not describe a reason for the trip in his social media post.

The event will take place at the Rocky Mount Events Center. Trump last week traveled to Pennsylvania to discuss the economy and cost of living.

“We’re seeing a lot of tragedies,” the GOP speaker said as he arrived at the Capitol.

He drew on scripture to provide comfort to the Reiner family and others after “the senseless violence” this past weekend in Australia and at Brown University.

“We have to appeal to our better angels,” Johnson said, and “I think we have to amplify those voices.”He declined to answer questions about Trump’s insensitive remarks after Reiner’s death.

The United States and Paraguay have signed an agreement laying out the legal framework for American troops to be stationed the in the South American country and clearing the way for further defense and intelligence cooperation between the two as the Trump administration steps up military operations throughout the western hemisphere.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez signed the so-called “status of forces” agreement on Monday at the State Department. Both men hailed the deal as a step forward in relations that would enhance already strong counter-terrorism and -narcotics measures.

Such agreements outline the legal requirements and immunities for U.S. troops to be present in other countries, although there was no immediate announcement of any deployments to Paraguay.

California is hiring two former top federal health officials, state officials said Monday.

Susan Monarez, the former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is helping California launch an effort to maintain trust in science-driven decision-making and improve public health infrastructure.

Monarez is being joined by Dr. Debra Houry, CDC’s former chief medical officer. Both will be advisors, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

The White House fired Monarez in August when she fell out of favor with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after only one month on the job. Houry and some other top CDC officials resigned in protest.

A few Republican members of Congress are calling out President Donald Trump’s insensitive social media post regarding the deaths of director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted ox X that regardless of how one felt about Reiner, “this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”

Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said of Trump’s post: “This statement is wrong. Regardless of one’s political views, no one should be subjected to violence, let alone at the hands of their own son. It’s a horrible tragedy that should engender sympathy and compassion from everyone in our country, period.”

And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted: “This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.”

James said Monday she isn’t spending a lot of time thinking about the Trump administration’s repeated efforts to revive a criminal case against her.

James, a Democrat, made her first public comments about the matter at an unrelated press conference after the news last week that a second federal grand jury had declined to indict her on charges related to her purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020.

“I don’t really spend a lot of time focused on this campaign of retribution,” said James. “I’ve got a lot of work on my hands — standing up and defending the rights of New Yorkers, protecting them from harms coming from Washington, D.C.”

A judge last month threw out an indictment charging James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case at Republican President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

“I’ve got a job to do,” said James, who had pleaded not guilty to the earlier indictment and denies any wrongdoing.

About 3 in 10 Americans cite the cost of health care as the most urgent health problem facing the country, and about one-quarter say the health care system is in “crisis,” according to a new Gallup poll released Monday.

The poll also shows that only 16% of Americans are satisfied with the cost of health care in the U.S.

The findings from the survey conducted in November come as Congress has yet to address the spiking health insurance premium costs facing millions of Americans when Affordable Care Act health subsidies expire at the start of the new year.

It also comes as health expenses have risen across the board in response to a variety of factors, including inflation and the increasing use of expensive medications such as GLP-1 weight loss drugs.

Biden agreed to the penalty and admitted to violating the state’s attorney conduct rules, but he did not admit to committing any crimes.

His father, former President Joe Biden, pardoned him last year after he was convicted of three felonies relating to a 2018 gun purchase and pleaded guilty to failing to pay federal taxes. He previously was disbarred in Washington, D.C.

A Connecticut judge ordered the disbarment on Monday. Hunter Biden did not speak and he and his lawyer appeared via video at the virtual court hearing in Waterbury.

The judge found that Hunter Biden violated several lawyer ethics rules, including engaging in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”

In a court document, Hunter Biden admitted to some but not all of the misconduct allegations. The judge also cited the Washington disbarment. He was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1997, a year after graduating from Yale Law School.

The U.S. officials who briefed reporters after Witkoff and Kushner met with Zelenskyy and other European officials in Berlin over the last two days said such an offer over Ukraine joining the EU would be a major concession by Moscow. But Russia has previously said it doesn’t object to Ukraine joining the EU.