A federal magistrate in Florida has ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a sworn deposition by Dec. 11 in the $10 billion defamation lawsuit he filed against the BBC, rejecting arguments that his schedule precludes him from the discovery process. The ruling underscores a basic procedural reality: the plaintiff who invokes the court’s power to extract nine-figure damages cannot opt out of the obligations that power entails.
The editing error that sparked the suit
Trump filed the complaint in December 2025 over an October 2024 episode of “Panorama.” The program edited footage of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech to create the impression he said he would walk to the Capitol with the crowd and “fight like hell.” The BBC subsequently apologized, acknowledging the broadcast gave “the mistaken impression that President Trump made a direct call for violent action.” Trump dropped claims against BBC Studios Distribution and BBC Studios Production in July after the broadcaster argued those entities had no role in the documentary, but he is pressing ahead against the BBC itself.
Discovery dispute and the Dec. 11 deadline
At a hearing Thursday, BBC counsel Charles Tobin told U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett that the broadcaster had still not been able to depose the president with two months remaining in the discovery period. Lett ordered the deposition to proceed by Dec. 11, though she noted the date could shift if the discovery window is extended. She also warned Trump’s legal team that failure to produce documentation the BBC is entitled to could result in dismissal of the case.
Trump team pushes for January 2027
In a filing Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers proposed dates between Jan. 11 and Jan. 22, 2027, for the deposition and asserted the BBC was “wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action.” A spokesman for the legal team characterized the BBC as “formerly respected and now disgraced,” accusing it of intentionally doctoring the speech to interfere in the 2024 election.
Motion to dismiss pending
The BBC has moved to dismiss the suit, arguing the “Panorama” broadcast does not meet the legal standard for defamation and was not available in the U.S. That motion remains unresolved. If the case survives, the deposition will test whether a sitting president can be compelled to testify under oath in a civil matter he initiated, and whether the $10 billion demand survives contact with the evidentiary record.