The BBC has admitted errors in its reporting about critiques of Liz Cheney made by U.S. President Donald Trump who has already threatened to sue the British public broadcaster for misleading edits.

While the BBC has not issued a public correction an internal memo has reportedly admitted that it spread inaccurate claims about President Trump and his longstanding feud with former Congresswoman Liz Cheney according to London’s Daily Telegraph.

Shortly before voters went to the polls for the 2024 presidential elections in the United States a presenter for BBC World News America claimed that Trump appeared to suggest Liz Cheney should face a firing squad for her stance on foreign policy.

BBC North America editor Sarah Smith is also quoted as accusing Trump of ratcheting up the violent rhetoric.

“In the latest spat, Donald Trump has been accused of being petty, vindictive and a wannabe tyrant because he suggested that one of his political opponents should face guns, have them trained on her face.”

However in reality then-candidate Trump merely made the so-called chicken hawk argument about the Cheney heir. He was accusing the former Vice President’s daughter of advocating for war while remaining safe at home.

“Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her face. OK? Let’s see how she feels about it.”

Although the publicly-funded broadcaster did not issue a retraction an internal memo reportedly admitted that they had covered the comments falsely.

“BBC News accepted that the Liz Cheney story was not covered accurately by the BBC, and the EGSC [editorial guidelines and standards committee] concluded errors were made on this specific issue.”

The memo is quoted as saying this.

The memo was compiled by the director of the editorial complaints unit Peter Johnston and submitted to the BBC board in October.

It was produced in the wake of a dossier from former independent ethics advisor Michael Prescott. He accused the broadcaster of having materially misled its audience by splicing two sections of President Trump’s speech in Washington DC on January 6th to falsely imply that he had urged supporters to fight at the Capitol.

The Johnston memo found that BBC staff maintain they were not acting out of an anti-Trump bias. However the broadcaster was forced to issue a formal apology and both BBC Director General Tim Davie and the CEO of News Deborah Turness resigned in disgrace following the revelations.

Regardless President Trump has said that he plans on suing the BBC for up to $5 billion. He said last month that he feels an obligation to do so because if you don’t do it you don’t stop it from happening again with other people.

A BBC spokesman said the following.

“The BBC has published Peter Johnston’s note, which is a public acknowledgement of these matters, and we’ve made clear that we will be publishing a more detailed analysis in due course.”

The chicken hawk argument Trump made is a common critique of politicians who send others to war. He was pointing out Cheney’s hypocrisy in supporting military interventions while never facing combat herself.

Sarah Smith’s characterization of Trump as petty, vindictive and a wannabe tyrant for his comment reveals clear bias. She twisted his words to fit a predetermined narrative about violent rhetoric.

The internal memo admitting errors without issuing a public correction shows BBC’s reluctance to admit wrongdoing to audiences. They only acknowledged the mistake internally after being caught.

The January 6th editing scandal where BBC spliced Trump’s speech to falsely imply he urged fighting at the Capitol represents deliberate deception. This was not a mistake but intentional manipulation.

Peter Johnston’s finding that staff claim no anti-Trump bias is laughable given the pattern of false reporting. Multiple incidents of misleading coverage prove systemic bias exists.

The resignations of Director General Tim Davie and CEO Deborah Turness demonstrate how serious these violations were. Top executives lost their jobs over the fake news scandal.

Trump’s plan to sue for $5 billion sends a message to media outlets worldwide. There will be financial consequences for deliberately misleading audiences about him.

His statement about feeling an obligation to sue because otherwise it happens again shows strategic thinking. He’s protecting future politicians from similar treatment.

The BBC being publicly funded makes their bias especially egregious. British taxpayers subsidize propaganda against a U.S. president.

The promise of a more detailed analysis in due course likely means another internal document they hope stays private. BBC has no interest in publicly admitting their lies.

The firing squad claim versus the actual chicken hawk comment represents the gap between reality and media narrative. Trump criticized war hawks, media claimed he threatened murder.