President Donald Trump must give evidence to lawyers for the BBC by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, a US federal judge has ordered.
US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett set the deadline at a hearing in Miami. Mr Trump could face penalties, including the possible dismissal of his claim, if he fails to answer questions unless the discovery period is extended.
The president had been due to sit for questioning on October 16, but his lawyers told the BBC that he would no longer be available “due to other matters of national importance”.
The broadcaster told the court that Mr Trump attended a rally in Georgia with Republican candidates for the Senate and governor on the scheduled deposition date. He then travelled to his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida for an event held by the Republican National Committee.
Mr Trump’s legal team said he would instead be available during the second or third week of January. BBC lawyers asked the judge to compel him to confirm a date and answer their questions.
A spokesman for the president’s lawyers did not address the order for a deposition, but said Mr Trump’s “powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”
Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC
Mr Trump filed the action in December over a BBC documentary broadcast in October 2024, shortly before the presidential election. The programme used edited-together sections of a speech he gave outside the White House on January 6 2021.
He alleges that the editing misled viewers and falsely portrayed what he had said to supporters. A crowd of his backers later marched to the US Capitol and breached the building while lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence were gathered to reaffirm the result of the 2020 election.
The BBC said in November 2025 that it “sincerely regrets” the way the footage was edited and apologised to Mr Trump, while maintaining that there was no basis for a defamation claim.
Discovery in the case began in February and is due to end on December 18. BBC lawyers said they had still not questioned Mr Trump nearly eight months into the process, describing him as “the most central figure in this case”.
The broadcaster is also seeking evidence from former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought criminal charges against Mr Trump in 2023 over alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election. Those charges were dismissed after Mr Trump was elected to a second term in 2024.
The BBC says Mr Smith could provide information about the January 6 speech, including whether Mr Trump knew his remarks might lead to violence. Mr Trump’s lawyers dispute that he has personal knowledge of the president’s state of mind and argue that his evidence would duplicate material already contained in his final report and congressional testimony.
