A United States judge has ordered President Donald Trump to answer questions under oath by December 11 in his defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over the editing of a speech he delivered before the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order after lawyers representing the BBC argued that Trump had failed to complete a scheduled deposition in the case.
A deposition is a formal interview conducted under oath outside court, during which a person answers questions that may later be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
According to the BBC, its lawyer, Charles Tobin, told a court in Miami on Thursday that Trump had yet to undergo the interview despite the discovery phase of the case having only about two months remaining.
Lett directed Trump to appear for the deposition by December 11 or face possible sanctions. These could include dismissal of his lawsuit if the deadline is not met and the discovery period is not extended.
BBC accuses Trump of missing scheduled deposition
Trump cancelled a previously scheduled deposition on October 16, citing “matters of national importance”.
However, Tobin told the court that the president attended a midterm election campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraising event at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida that day.
The BBC’s lawyers subsequently asked the court to compel Trump to answer questions under oath.
In a separate court filing on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers argued that he was not avoiding the deposition and proposed that he could sit for the interview between January 11 and 22, 2027.
The judge’s December deadline would require Trump to appear earlier than the period proposed by his legal team, unless the court extends the discovery timetable.
Trump accuses BBC of misleading editing
Trump filed the lawsuit in Florida, accusing the BBC of “intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring” a speech he delivered outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The lawsuit concerns a Panorama documentary that edited together two separate sections of the speech, which Trump delivered before a crowd of supporters later involved in the Capitol riot.
The BBC apologised for the editing error, acknowledging that the programme had created “the mistaken impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action”.
However, the broadcaster has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the programme does not satisfy the legal requirements for defamation and was not available to viewers in the United States.
In July, Trump’s lawyers acknowledged they had no evidence that the documentary had been available in the US through BritBox, the BBC website, BBC Select or US broadcasters, as they had initially alleged.
Trump subsequently agreed to drop his lawsuit against BBC Studios, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, after it argued that it had no role in producing the documentary.
The main defamation case against the BBC remains subject to the ongoing court proceedings.
