BBC lawyers filed a motion in a Florida court this week seeking to compel President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. They say Trump canceled an agreed-upon deposition date of October 16, 2026, citing 'matters of national importance' and has since refused to provide a replacement date, despite repeated requests since July.
The BBC alleges that Trump’s delay tactics have prevented them from deposing the central figure in the case, with two months of discovery remaining and no schedule set for his testimony. Attorney Charles D. Tobin wrote in the filing that the delays 'have flouted the cooperative spirit of discovery and precluded the BBC from obtaining the evidence necessary to robustly litigate its defense.'
Trump filed the lawsuit last December, accusing the BBC of defamation and deceptive trade practices over a documentary that spliced together quotes from his January 6, 2021 speech to make it appear he urged violence before the Capitol riot. The BBC has apologized for the edit, and its director-general and top news executive resigned, but the broadcaster denies defaming Trump and maintains the footage was not misleading.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team did not address the reasons for the delay but reiterated the allegations against the BBC, saying the president is holding the broadcaster 'accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.' Trump has a history of avoiding depositions, including voluntarily dropping a $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen in 2023 days before he was set to testify.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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