I am trying to install bittorrent. I installed the .deb file from the bittorrent site but when I try and run bittorrent i get the following:

# bittorrent Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/bittorrent", line 53, in ?
from BitTorrent import NewVersion
File "/usr/lib/python2.3/site-packages/BitTorrent/NewVersion.py", line 27, in ?
from Crypto.PublicKey import DSA
ImportError: No module named Crypto.PublicKey

Is bittorrent even the correct command? How do I uninstall what I have already installed an so I can use apt-get to install bittorrent?

If you just install the deb you probably didn't get the dependencies. "apt-cache search bittorrent" will show some apps you can install with apt-get. Personally I use azureus or bittornado depending on if I use a gui atm.

EDIT: the command I usually use is: "btdownloadcurses.bittornado filename.torrent" or if I want to restrict upload:
"btdownloadcurses.bittornado --max_upload_rate 25 filename.torrent"
If you use the bittorrent client it's: "btdownloadcurses --max_upload_rate 25 filename.torrent"

Forgetting about manually downloading .debs.

Add the appropriate repository to your /etc/apt/sources.list and

Actually this is a known problem:

http://www.bittorrent.com/FAQ.html

It's described in the "BitTorrent 4.1.x problems" section.