In brief
Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Trump to sit for a deposition by 11 December, or face sanctions including possible dismissal of the $10 billion suit.
Trump cancelled a deposition agreed for 16 October, citing matters of national importance, while the BBC says he was campaigning in Georgia.
The BBC subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith, while Trump's lawyers argue he lacks personal knowledge and that his testimony would be duplicative.
The judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to produce documents, and discovery closes on 18 December unless extended.
The court order
A federal magistrate judge in Miami, Enjoliqué Lett, ruled on Thursday that Donald Trump must sit for a deposition by 11 December in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. If he does not, he faces sanctions, including possible dismissal of the suit, unless the discovery period is extended past 18 December. The judge said the deposition could be videotaped but only accessible to attorneys in the case, rejecting a request by Trump's legal team to bar recording. The deposition is expected to last seven hours.
Why the BBC pressed for it
The BBC's attorney Charles Tobin told the court that with two months left in the discovery period, the broadcaster had still not been able to depose the plaintiff. A deposition date agreed for 16 October was cancelled by Trump, who cited a "matter of national importance" while campaigning in Georgia. Tobin said Trump instead prioritised party politics over the deposition, and the broadcaster alleges Trump is trying to push his testimony to January 2027.
“He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition.”
Discovery dispute
The BBC's lawyers also argued that Trump's team had not handed over internal documents in good time ahead of the 18 December discovery deadline. Tobin said the plaintiffs had produced little of substance, with most documents taken from the internet or supplied by the BBC itself. Lett said she was not satisfied that anyone was doing a thorough search and gave the plaintiffs 30 days to produce the relevant documents, warning that failure could lead to sanctions.
“This is the last opportunity to do so.”
Jack Smith deposition
The same hearing addressed whether former special counsel Jack Smith should be deposed. Smith is not a party to the case. The BBC subpoenaed him earlier this month to strengthen its defence. Trump's lawyers argued in a joint filing that Smith lacks any personal knowledge of the issues, because he was not present for the speech and did not help prepare it, and that his testimony would be duplicative given his published report on the events of 6 January.
The underlying dispute
The lawsuit, filed in Florida last December, concerns a Panorama documentary aired in 2024 titled in the coverage as a film about Trump's second chance. The BBC has acknowledged that filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of Trump's speech to supporters on 6 January 2021, creating the impression he directly urged violence. The broadcaster apologised over the editing, and its director-general Tim Davie resigned, as did its top news executive. The BBC denies that it defamed Trump, and it has challenged the jurisdiction of a Florida court because the programme was never aired in the state or the US.