A federal judge in Florida has issued a stern ultimatum to President Donald Trump, ordering him to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. Failure to comply with the deadline could result in the total dismissal of the case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett handed down the order on Thursday following complaints from the BBC’s legal team that the former president has been intentionally stalling the discovery process. Trump was originally scheduled to be deposed on Oct. 16, but he canceled the appearance citing a “matter of national importance.”
BBC attorney Charles Tobin pushed back against that characterization during the hearing, informing the judge that the supposed urgent commitment was actually a political rally and fundraiser. “He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition,” Tobin argued.
Trump’s legal team had sought to push the deposition date into late January. However, Tobin successfully argued that such a delay would be untenable given that discovery in the case is slated to conclude on Dec. 18. As the plaintiff claiming he suffered $10 billion in damages due to the BBC’s 2024 documentary, Trump is considered the single most critical witness in the proceedings.
In a further blow to the former president’s legal team, Judge Lett ruled that the deposition may be videotaped. Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, had formally argued against video recording, but the court sided with the BBC.
The underlying lawsuit stems from a 2024 BBC documentary that examined the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump’s suit alleges the network aired a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction” of him by splicing together comments from his speech at the Ellipse. The BBC has acknowledged editing the comments but maintains that its reporting was not defamatory and that the plaintiff suffered no legitimate financial damages.
As part of the discovery process, the BBC has subpoenaed information from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club to determine if the documentary—which did not air in the United States—had any measurable impact on membership fees or applications. While attorney Alejandro Brito argued that the subpoena should be quashed because the lawsuit does not claim business losses, Judge Lett disagreed, noting that the complaint specifically asserts the documentary “injured President Trump in his profession, occupation and trade.”
In a statement following the ruling, a spokesperson for Trump’s personal legal team doubled down on the merits of the litigation, calling it a “powerhouse lawsuit” aimed at holding the BBC “accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference.” The BBC declined to comment on the court’s latest order.
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