President Donald Trump has been ordered by a federal judge to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11, after the British broadcaster accused him of delaying the appearance in his own case.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order in Miami on Thursday. Lawyers for the BBC told the court that with only about two months left in the discovery period, they still had not been able to question the president under oath. An earlier deposition date of October 16 was agreed and then cancelled by Trump, who cited a matter of national importance. The BBC’s attorney, Charles Tobin, told the court the president was in fact campaigning in Georgia that day, saying he had prioritized party politics over the deposition.
What happens if he does not appear
Judge Lett warned that Trump must sit for the deposition by December 11 or face sanctions, which could go as far as dismissal of his lawsuit, unless the discovery period — currently scheduled to end December 18 — is extended. Only the presiding judge in the case can change the trial schedule, and the BBC’s lawyers said they would be open to a later date if the overall schedule moved as well.
What the lawsuit is about
Trump filed the lawsuit last December, accusing the publicly funded BBC of defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices over its documentary “Trump: A Second Chance.” He alleges the BBC deceptively edited footage of his January 6, 2021 speech to make it appear he encouraged violence at the U.S. Capitol. The BBC has apologized for the edit, which it admitted was misleading, and two senior executives resigned over the scandal — but the broadcaster denies the edit amounts to defamation.
Why this matters
Depositions of a sitting president are rare, and this ruling puts a hard deadline on one of the most closely watched media cases in the world. It also arrives in the middle of the midterm campaign, when Trump’s legal battles are again colliding with his political schedule — the very tension the BBC raised in court.
Sources: Associated Press reporting on the October 22–23, 2026 hearing; Reuters coverage of the deposition order.