Trump Ordered to Testify Under Oath in BBC Lawsuit, Judge Sets 11 December Deadline
President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC, a US judge has ordered. Trump must sit for the deposition by 11 December.
Trump is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the riot at the US Capitol in 2021.
Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the BBC, said in court that 'we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff' with two months left in the discovery period.
Trump previously cancelled a deposition on 16 October, citing 'matters of national importance' while he was campaigning in Georgia.
In US law, a deposition is an out-of-court statement made under oath in response to questions, recorded for use in later proceedings. Depositions typically take place in a lawyer's office rather than a courtroom, without a judge physically present, but they carry legal weight and take place under oath.
The judge in the case, US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett, said Trump must sit for the deposition by 11 December, unless the discovery period is extended.
Last week, attorneys asked Lett to compel Trump to face deposition after the last scheduled meeting did not take place. On that day, Trump attended a midterms campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
In a separate filing on Wednesday, Trump's lawyers said the president could appear for the interview between 11 and 22 January next year, and claimed the BBC was 'wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action.'
Trump's lawsuit, filed in Florida, accuses the BBC of 'intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring' the speech he gave outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
The BBC apologised for the error and said the broadcast gave 'the mistaken impression that President Trump made a direct call for violent action.'
The broadcaster has since asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the programme does not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not available in the US.
In July, Trump's lawyers conceded they had no evidence that the documentary was available in the US on the BBC's BritBox subscription service — as they originally claimed — or on the BBC's website, BBC Select or through US broadcasters. Trump ultimately agreed to drop the lawsuit against BBC Studios, its commercial arm, after the BBC argued it had 'no role in creating or producing the documentary.'
