Judge Orders Trump to Sit for Deposition in $10 Billion BBC Lawsuit by December 11

A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, after lawyers for the British broadcaster told the court they still have not been able to question him under oath.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order from the bench at a hearing in Miami, according to the Associated Press. Lett said Trump must complete the deposition by December 11 or face sanctions up to dismissal of his lawsuit, unless the discovery period is extended past its current end date of December 18.

A missed date in October

The BBC had an agreed date of October 16 for the deposition. Trump canceled it, citing a matter of national importance. Charles Tobin, the attorney for the BBC, told the judge that Trump was in fact campaigning in Georgia that day.

"He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition," Tobin said, according to the Associated Press. He added that with two months left in the discovery period, "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff."

Trump's lawyers deny that he is avoiding a deposition. They say the president's duties and security needs must take precedence, and they have called the BBC's requests for records too broad and irrelevant to the case. Only the presiding judge assigned to the case can alter the trial schedule, and the BBC's lawyers said they would be open to a later deposition date if the schedule was also moved back.

The documentary at the center of the case

Trump filed the lawsuit last December in federal court in Florida. It centers on a BBC documentary, "Trump: A Second Chance," which spliced together different parts of the speech Trump gave at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021. The editing made it appear that he directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol that day.

The suit seeks $5 billion in defamation damages and another $5 billion under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The BBC has admitted the edits were misleading and has apologized to Trump. Its chairman, Samir Shah, described the edit as an error of judgment. The broadcaster insists the documentary did not defame Trump, and it denies legal liability. Its director-general and its news chief executive both stepped down amid the controversy that followed the apology.

What the BBC wants to ask

Because Trump brought the case himself, the BBC says questioning him directly is central to its defense. The broadcaster is also seeking financial records from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and the web of business entities associated with him. It says that information is needed to answer his claims for damages.

Representatives for Trump's legal team and for the BBC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday's ruling, Reuters reported.

The case is one of several Trump has filed against news organizations over coverage he disputes. Thursday's order sets a hard test for the biggest of them: sit for questions under oath by December 11, or risk losing the lawsuit before it reaches a jury.