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BBC asks US judge to compel Trump to give deposition in $10bn lawsuit

Broadcaster says president's team has delayed questioning beyond the discovery deadline

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
The BBC is asking a federal judge in Florida to force Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10bn lawsuit against the British broadcaster, after his legal team said he would not be available until January, well after the discovery deadline in the case.

In a filing on Tuesday, the BBC said Trump's legal team had agreed for the president to be deposed on Friday, but that its lawyers had spent months trying to secure a location for the deposition. On 28 September, Trump's lawyers told the BBC that the president was "no longer available for his deposition on October 16 due to other matters of national importance".

The BBC said Trump's lawyers promised to follow up quickly with a replacement date but did not, ultimately suggesting he would be available in the second or third week of January. The broadcaster's lawyers had pledged to keep the location of the deposition confidential.

"Plaintiff chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation," the BBC's motion reads. "The BBC therefore asks the Court to compel Plaintiff to confirm a date for his deposition, notify the BBC of a secure location where such deposition is possible and any other logistics required to ensure Plaintiff's safety, and sit for the deposition, as the core rules of discovery require."

The BBC's lawyers wrote that, nearly eight months into discovery and after seven depositions of BBC witnesses, with only two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still had no schedule to depose "the most central figure in this case: Plaintiff himself".

Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett has scheduled a discovery hearing for 22 October that is likely to address the issue.

Trump filed the lawsuit against the BBC in December 2025, accusing the network of violating Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act over the editing of a Panorama documentary that joined together comments he made during a rally on 6 January 2021. The BBC has apologised for the error.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The case tests whether a sitting US president can be required to give evidence in a private civil lawsuit while in office.
  • The BBC argues that without deposing Trump it cannot properly defend a $10bn claim, making the scheduling dispute central to the case.
  • The ruling could set a precedent for how courts handle depositions of presidents and other senior officials in civil litigation.

Background

Trump has a long history of legal action against media companies. The current lawsuit stems from a BBC Panorama documentary that edited together comments he made at a rally on 6 January 2021. The BBC has apologised for the error. The case is being heard under Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the parties have been in discovery for months, with the BBC having already deposed seven witnesses.

Key Perspectives

The BBC: Trump chose to file the lawsuit and must therefore accept the obligations of civil litigation, including sitting for a deposition. Without his testimony, the broadcaster says it cannot complete its defence before the discovery deadline.

Trump's legal team: The president is unavailable on the agreed date due to "other matters of national importance", and has proposed January dates that fall after the discovery window.

Critics and legal observers: The court must balance the rules of discovery against the practical demands of a president's schedule. Some may question whether the proposed January date is a reasonable accommodation or an attempt to delay the case.

What to Watch

  • The discovery hearing scheduled for 22 October before Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett.
  • Whether Trump's team offers a concrete deposition date before the discovery deadline.
  • Any ruling on whether the president must sit for the deposition and under what security arrangements.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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