Federal Judge Orders Trump to Testify Under Oath in $10 Billion BBC Defamation Lawsuit
MIAMI β A federal magistrate judge has ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition under oath by December 11 in his multibillion-dollar defamation suit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), warning that failure to comply could trigger severe penalties, including the potential dismissal of the case.
The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge EnjoliquΓ© Lett came after BBC attorneys petitioned the court to compel Trumpβs testimony, arguing that his legal team was attempting to stall discovery until early next year.
“Two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still has not been able to depose, and does not even have a schedule to depose, the most central figure in this case: Plaintiff himself,” BBC attorney Charles D. Tobin wrote in recent filings, asserting that the delays prevented the network from mounting a proper defense.
The legal battle stems from a Florida federal complaint filed by Trump, alleging defamation and unfair trade practices over an episode of the BBC’s investigative program Panorama, titled Trump: A Second Chance? The lawsuit contends the broadcaster intentionally spliced together separate remarks from Trump’s January 6, 2021 address to falsely imply a direct call for violent action at the U.S. Capitol. While the BBC publicly apologized for the editing error, it maintains the segment did not constitute legal defamation and has moved to have the lawsuit thrown out.
Scheduling tensions escalated after Trump canceled a deposition originally set for October 16, with his counsel citing “matters of national importance”. Network attorneys pointed out that on that date, Trump attended a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and hosted an evening fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
In subsequent court filings, Trump’s attorneys denied evading the deposition, offering to make him available between January 11 and January 22. The BBC rejected that timeline because pretrial discovery closes on December 18, prompting the court to establish the mandatory December 11 cutoff. Coverage of the ruling was detailed by CBS News and The Independent.
