Judge Orders Trump to Sit for Deposition by Dec. 11 in $10 Billion BBC Lawsuit or Risk Sanctions

MIAMI, Oct. 22 (TodayViralUSA) — A federal magistrate judge has ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, warning that his case could face sanctions, up to and including dismissal, if he fails to cooperate with the discovery process.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order Thursday after lawyers for the British broadcaster complained that the president had stalled his own case. Charles Tobin, an attorney for the BBC, told the court that with two months left in discovery, “we still haven’t been able to depose the plaintiff,” the Associated Press reported.

A canceled deposition

Trump had agreed to be questioned under oath on Oct. 16 but called it off, citing a “matter of national importance.” Tobin told the court the president had instead attended a political rally and a fundraiser. “He was participating in party politics and supported his candidates in the election, and he prioritized that over his obligations in this proceeding,” Tobin said, according to NBC News.

Trump’s lawyers had proposed pushing the deposition to late January. The BBC argued that was too late because discovery is scheduled to close Dec. 18, and because Trump, as the party claiming billions of dollars in damages, is the central witness.

Video allowed, documents questioned

Lett rejected a request from Trump’s legal team to bar video recording of the deposition, which is expected to last up to seven hours, though the footage will be available only to the lawyers in the case, The Guardian reported. She said the Dec. 11 deadline could move only if U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, who oversees the case, extends discovery.

The judge also said she was “not satisfied” that Trump’s side had fully searched for records related to his Jan. 6, 2021, speech. “It just strains credulity that there has been a thorough search,” Lett said, according to Politico.

What the suit is about

The lawsuit centers on a 2024 episode of the BBC’s Panorama program that spliced together two passages from Trump’s speech before the Capitol riot, delivered nearly an hour apart. The BBC has acknowledged the edit was misleading but is contesting the suit. It also remains unclear whether former special counsel Jack Smith will be allowed to give a deposition in the case.