BBC Seeks Court Order to Force Trump Into Deposition in $10 Billion Defamation Case
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The British broadcaster is pressing a Florida federal judge to make President Trump honor discovery deadlines after his legal team missed previously agreed deposition dates.
The BBC has filed a motion with a federal magistrate judge in Florida asking that President Donald Trump be compelled to sit for a deposition in the broadcaster’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit. The filing says the parties originally scheduled a deposition for October 16, but Trump’s lawyers later claimed the president would be unavailable because of “matters of national importance” and proposed dates in late January, which would come after the discovery deadline.
The BBC’s counsel argues that Trump, as the plaintiff in a civil case, must comply with discovery obligations, including confirming a deposition date, providing a secure location, and attending the session. The motion stresses that after eight months of discovery and seven depositions of BBC witnesses, the plaintiff himself still has not been deposed.
A discovery hearing on the issue is set for October 22. The lawsuit, filed in December 2025, alleges that the BBC violated Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act by editing comments made by Trump at a January 6, 2021 rally in a Panorama documentary. The broadcaster has apologized for the editing error, but the case now highlights how even a powerful public figure must be held to the same procedural rules.