TLDR
A US judge has ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by 11 December in his US$10 billion defamation suit against the BBC, and warned that failing to comply could see the case dismissed. She also found Trump's team had not handed over enough documents.
Deadline set
A US federal magistrate judge has ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by 11 December in his US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC.[1] Judge Enjoliqué Lett warned that failing to comply could bring sanctions, including possible dismissal of the suit.[1]
The deposition can run for seven hours. Lett rejected a bid by Trump's lawyers to stop it being videotaped, though only lawyers in the case will see the recording.[1]
Judge criticises Trump's discovery
Lett agreed with the BBC that Trump's team had not handed over enough internal documents before the 18 December discovery deadline.[1] "The court is not satisfied that anyone is doing a thorough job," she told Trump's Florida attorney, Alejandro Brito.[1]
She gave Trump's side 30 days to produce the documents. "This is the last opportunity to do so," she said.[1]
"We still have a completely lopsided [situation] here on discovery. They have produced absolutely nothing of any substance," BBC lawyer Charles Tobin told the Miami court.[1]
A cancelled date
A deposition set for 16 October was cancelled, with Trump's counsel citing "other matters of national importance". The BBC told the court Trump was campaigning in Georgia that day.[1]
In a filing on Wednesday, Trump's team said he could sit for a deposition in the second or third week of January.[1] District Court Judge Jeffrey T Kuntz could extend the discovery timeline, and Tobin said the BBC would accept a later date if he did.[1]
What the case is about
Trump alleges the BBC defamed him in a Panorama documentary that spliced together two parts of a speech he gave on 6 January 2021, before the US Capitol riot.[2] He also alleges deceptive and unfair trade practices. The BBC denies the edit defamed him.[2]
Lett also allowed the BBC to subpoena Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida club, over his lawyer's objections.[1]
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