The judge rejected a delay to January and said the testimony can be videotaped. The case could be dismissed if he doesn’t comply.
A federal judge in Florida ordered President Donald Trump on Thursday to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, with the possibility that the case could be dismissed if he does not. The judge also ruled that the deposition can be videotaped, over the objection of Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito.
Trump had been scheduled to be deposed in October, but his lawyers told the BBC he could not attend because of other matters of national importance and would not be available until January 2027 at the earliest, according to Forbes. Discovery in the case is scheduled to end in December. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett threatened sanctions last week, and NBC News reported that a proposal to push the deposition to late January was rejected as too late.
Trump sued the BBC in December, seeking $5 billion for defamation and $5 billion for deceptive and unfair trade practices over a 2024 “Panorama” documentary that aired days before the US presidential election. The suit says the program spliced together separate parts of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech to make it appear he directly urged supporters to attack the Capitol. The BBC has acknowledged the splicing and apologized for giving a mistaken impression that he made a direct call for violence. The episode led to the resignations of its top executive and its head of news. The broadcaster denies defaming Trump and says he suffered no damages.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said the lawsuit holds the BBC accountable for defamation and election interference. The BBC declined to comment, NBC News reported. In a separate dispute, the BBC has subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith to testify, while Trump’s lawyers argue he has no personal knowledge of the speech or Trump’s state of mind.
This report draws on information from NBC News, Axios and Forbes.