BBC Tries to Drag President Trump Into Deposition Fight in $10 Billion Defamation Case
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The British broadcaster is asking a Florida federal judge to force President Trump to appear after his legal team missed earlier agreed dates.
The BBC has filed a motion with a federal magistrate judge in Florida requesting that President Donald Trump be compelled to sit for a deposition in the broadcaster’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit. The filing states that the parties initially scheduled a deposition for October 16, but Trump’s lawyers later said the president would be unavailable because of “matters of national importance” and proposed dates in late January, which would fall after the discovery deadline.
The BBC’s counsel says that Trump, as the plaintiff in a civil case, must meet discovery obligations, including confirming a deposition date, providing a secure location, and attending the session. The motion emphasizes that after eight months of discovery and seven depositions of BBC witnesses, the plaintiff himself has not yet been deposed.
A discovery hearing on the issue is scheduled 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, and the dispute now centers on whether the BBC can push ahead with a forced deposition on its timeline.