A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11.
Lawyers for the BBC and for Trump were tussling in court Thursday over whether former special counsel Jack Smith should be deposed in the presidents $10 billion defamation case against the broadcaster a possibility that Trump strongly opposes.
In a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqu Lett in Miami, the parties were also expected to address the thorny issue of when Trump himself will be made available for deposition.
BBC asked the judge last week to compel Trump to appear after they said he canceled an agreed-upon date of Oct. 16, citing matters of national importance. The British broadcaster says Trump is trying to delay his appearance until January 2027. The judge has threatened sanctions if Trump fails to comply with the court’s schedule.
Trump, who has often avoided depositions, filed his lawsuit against the BBC last December, seeking $10 billion in damages. He accused the publicly funded broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices related to a documentary, Trump: A Second Chance.
The BBC acknowledged that filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of the speech Trump delivered to his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, to make it seem he was directly urging violence. The broadcaster apologized over the editing, and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned. But the BBC has denied Trumps claims that it defamed him.