Anyone who thought the BBC's apology to Donald Trump would stop his threat of a lawsuit was, frankly, mistaken.
Chairman of the BBC Board of Directors, Samir Shah, probably summed it up in an interview he gave me the day after the director general and executive director of BBC News resigned.
He called the president a "litigator."
That's a mild assessment, as is evident from the number of lawsuits Trump has filed against various American media companies.
The president, according to an interview with GB News, is clearly hurt by what he considers the "outrageous" changes and has now increased the amount he says he will sue the corporation for.
While on a plane on Friday, Trump told reporters the figure would be "between $1 billion and $5 billion."
The BBC's annual licence fee revenue last year was 3,8 billion pounds (about 4,3 billion euros).
"They changed the words that came out of my mouth," Trump said.
He wants to know why. Panorama edited two clips of his speech to give them a "completely different meaning".
He does not accept the BBC's response that what happened was unintentional.
This is a very serious moment in the corporation's history.
BBC reporting was seen as impartial - a source of trust in a world where trust in institutions was declining.
Instead, the corporation is accused of the opposite - and faces a costly legal battle with the most powerful man in the world.
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Where does that lead?
From the time the president first threatened legal action, it was clear that the corporation had no intention of offering him compensation.
The BBC believes that there is a case that, whatever mistake was made, the programme Panorama did no harm to Trump.
He was elected president shortly after it was broadcast, and since it was not broadcast on any American channel, how could it harm him, the BBC wonders.
I think there was a certain consensus, both inside and outside the corporation, that the idea of using compensation money to settle with Trump was unacceptable.
"They made the right decision," said a former senior BBC executive, after the British public service refused to offer compensation.
If the president decides to sue, the BBC would have to “hire the best lawyers in Florida,” he adds.
The reason for the settlement would be to reduce costs in the long term.
It now looks as if the BBC will be embroiled in a protracted and expensive legal battle at a time when it should be fully focused on discussions about renewing the Charter that governs the corporation's operations.
The people at the helm of the BBC should be fully engaged in what is, in normal times, a fundamental moment for the corporation - how it will be financed.
Already is losing the man who was supposed to lead it - Tim Davey, CEO.
Now the BBC's top brains will be diverted to devising the next moves in what could be a very damaging, even existential, fight with Donald Trump.
The legal costs alone could become very expensive.
All of this could have been avoided if the BBC had reported the error much earlier and corrected it.
Instead, he took the long way.
But maybe there is a way out.
Could the BBC ask the British government to intervene through secret channels?
Would British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's call convince Trump to change his mind?
Would Starmer even want to get involved and spend political capital on the American president?
One positive thing for the BBC this week was the way in which Culture Minister Lisa Nandy defended the corporation.
She spoke of the widespread trust in BBC News and described the corporation as a "light in a time of darkness" that unites the country, whether through its broadcasts or its Celebrity Traitors or through reporting on Victory in Europe Day.
On the other hand, Donald Trump called the BBC "worse than fake news."
He claims that the corporation and its journalists are corrupt.
The fight is well underway.
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