BBC Trump Deposition: Judge Asked to Force Testimony
The bbc trump deposition fight intensified this week as the BBC asked a Florida federal judge to order President Donald Trump to set a firm date to give sworn testimony in the $10 billion defamation case he brought against the broadcaster, according to court filings reported Thursday.
The broadcaster’s legal team wrote that Trump’s lawyers had previously agreed to an Oct. 16 deposition, but said late last month it was no longer possible and proposed pushing it to January instead. The BBC asked the court to compel Trump to lock in a date and to take up the matter at an Oct. 22 hearing already scheduled to cover other procedural issues in the case.
Oct. 16 Date Fell Through
With nearly eight months of discovery complete and only about two months remaining, the BBC argued that it has deposed seven of its own witnesses but still has no schedule for questioning the plaintiff himself — described in the filing as the most central figure in the case.
The case, filed by Trump in December 2025, centers on a BBC documentary that spliced together two separate portions of his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, in a way that made it appear he had directly urged supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol. Trump is seeking at least $5 billion on each of two counts.
The BBC has apologized for the editing, which led to the resignations of multiple senior executives, but maintains it caused Trump no real injury and has asked the court to dismiss the case outright. A trial is set for February 2027.
The $10 Billion Case
The dispute over testimony is the latest flashpoint in one of the largest defamation suits ever filed against a news organization. The BBC’s lawyers told the court that the Oct. 16 session had been agreed to weeks earlier, and that the broadcaster learned late last month that Trump’s team could no longer make the date.
The filings also show the two sides remain far apart on the case’s merits. Trump contends the documentary’s editing materially misled viewers about his words on Jan. 6. The BBC argues the incident was an editorial error, already acknowledged and apologized for, and does not amount to the kind of harm that supports a multibillion-dollar award.
The judge has not yet ruled on the BBC’s request. If granted, the Oct. 22 hearing could produce a court-ordered deposition date for the president.
Source: Los Angeles Times