Judge Orders Trump to Sit for Deposition in $10B BBC Lawsuit

 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, ruling that he must answer questions under oath or risk having the case thrown out. The order came after the broadcaster's lawyers accused Trump of stalling to avoid testifying.

File photo: President Donald Trump in his official 2025 White House portrait.

A Deadline With Teeth

US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett issued the ruling from the bench at a hearing on Thursday, according to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and CNN. She ordered Trump to take questions from the BBC's lawyers under oath by December 11, warning that his legal action could be dismissed unless the discovery period is extended past December 18.

Trump had been due to sit for a deposition on October 16, but canceled, with his lawyers arguing that "matters of national importance" prevented him from taking part. According to the BBC's legal submission, Trump's legal team said he would not be available until at least January.

Charles Tobin, a lawyer for the BBC, told the court a different story. He said the president had in fact been campaigning in Georgia around the time of the missed deposition, telling the judge: "He was participating in party politics and prioritised that over sitting for the deposition."

The judge expressed open skepticism toward Trump's legal team. CNN reported that Lett told Trump's personal attorneys at the hearing: "Engaging in discovery is burdensome, but is a burden we undertake, especially if we file a lawsuit." She added that "it strains credulity" that Trump and his team had done an adequate job searching for internal documents related to the case.

The Case Behind the Headline

Trump filed the lawsuit in December 2025 in Florida federal court, seeking at least $10 billion in damages. According to the New York Post, the claim breaks down into $5 billion in defamation damages and $5 billion for alleged violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

The dispute centers on a 2024 BBC Panorama documentary, "Trump: A Second Chance?", which aired just over a week before the November 5, 2024, presidential election. Trump alleges the BBC maliciously edited footage of his January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he called for violence before some of his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The documentary joined one section of his remarks — in which he told his supporters "we're going to walk down to the Capitol ... and I'll be there with you" — with a line from much later in his speech in which he questioned the election result, adding: "And we fight, we fight like hell."

The BBC has admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump. BBC chairman Samir Shah described the editing as an "error of judgment," and both the BBC's director-general and its news CEO stepped down amid the controversy. But the broadcaster denies it is liable for defamation.

The case is one of several Trump has filed privately against news outlets as part of a broader pressure campaign against coverage he dislikes, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

A Discovery Fight Getting Personal

Beyond the deposition deadline, Thursday's hearing exposed a bitter fight over document discovery. The BBC is seeking financial records from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and the web of business entities associated with him, arguing the information is necessary to defend against Trump's enormous damages claims.

The judge backed the BBC on at least one front: CNN reported that Lett supported a subpoena from the broadcaster for membership records at Mar-a-Lago. The BBC has accused Trump and his lawyers of dragging their feet in responding to requests for records and other information exchanged during the discovery process.

Trump's lawyers say the BBC's requests are too broad and irrelevant to the case. In court filings, they have denied that Trump is avoiding a deposition, arguing that the president's duties and security needs must take precedence.

Legal experts note that Thursday's proceedings illustrate the risks of a president's litigiousness: lawsuits can expose the person suing — and their businesses — to scrutiny from the very parties they are taking to court.

F

ile photo: A federal courthouse in Miami, Florida, where Trump's defamation lawsuit against the BBC was filed.

What This Means

The December 11 deadline turns Trump's $10 billion lawsuit into a test of whether he is willing to submit himself to the same sworn questioning his opponents routinely face. A deposition would require Trump to answer questions under oath while being questioned by BBC lawyers, with the testimony recorded for use in any later legal proceedings.

The ruling also signals that federal judges are losing patience with delays. Lett's comments from the bench — questioning the thoroughness of the Trump team's document searches and warning that the case could be tossed — suggest the court will not tolerate what it views as foot-dragging.

For the BBC, the order is a double-edged sword. The broadcaster secured what it wanted — a firm deposition date — but the case continues, and the network has already admitted its edit was misleading. For Trump, the deposition presents political risk: anything he says under oath could become public and could be used by his opponents, including in the run-up to the midterm elections.

The dispute also underscores how the January 6, 2021, speech remains one of the most contested pieces of political footage in American history. Nearly six years after the Capitol attack, the question of exactly how that speech should be represented continues to drive lawsuits, apologies, and resignations on both sides of the Atlantic.

File photo: Donald and Melania Trump at the entrance of Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2017. The BBC is seeking financial records from the club.

What Happens Next

Unless the discovery period is extended past December 18, Trump must sit for the deposition by December 11. Both the judge and the parties acknowledged a likely possibility that the date could move, but the warning of dismissal gives the deadline real force.

The discovery fight is also set to continue. The BBC is pressing for broader access to Trump's financial records, while his lawyers are expected to keep challenging those requests as overly broad. Further hearings are likely before the case moves any closer to trial.

Neither Trump's legal team nor the BBC immediately responded to requests for comment on Thursday's ruling. But the next move is clear: after weeks of delays, the president will have to decide whether to answer the questions — or risk losing the $10 billion case he filed.