Attorneys for the BBC requested a Florida court this week to compel President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in a $10 billion defamation lawsuit he initiated against the broadcaster. The filing alleges that the president canceled a previously agreed-upon deposition date of October 16, citing "matters of national importance," and has not provided a new date within the active discovery period.
The legal dispute began in December 2025 when Trump filed the lawsuit following the BBC documentary "Trump: A Second Chance." The suit alleges defamation and deceptive trade practices, claiming the broadcaster spliced quotes from Trump's January 6, 2021, speech to suggest he was directly inciting violence. While the BBC apologized for the edit and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned, the organization has denied the legal claims of defamation.
According to the court filing, BBC attorney Charles D. Tobin stated that the broadcaster has been seeking deposition dates since July. After the October 16 date was canceled, the BBC reports that Trump’s legal team indicated he has "no availability whatsoever" before the December 18 discovery deadline and proposed dates in the second or third week of January 2027. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team did not address the scheduling delay but stated the president is holding the broadcaster accountable for "reckless election interference."
The outcome of the motion to compel will determine whether the president must undergo questioning under oath before the end of 2026. If the court does not intervene, the BBC argues its ability to prepare a defense will be restricted, as discovery—the formal process of exchanging information and evidence—is currently scheduled to close on December 18.
The scale of the case is significant, with Trump seeking $10 billion in damages. The BBC, which is funded by the British public, faces these claims alongside the prior loss of its top two executives who resigned following the internal acknowledgment of the documentary's editing. The broadcaster maintains that the deposition of the president, whom they describe as the "most central figure" in the case, is necessary to address the allegations.
If the deposition is delayed until January 2027 as requested by Trump's team, it would occur after the current court-mandated deadline for gathering evidence. A similar instance occurred in 2023 when Trump dropped a $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen days before a scheduled deposition. The court must now decide whether to enforce the discovery timeline or allow the extension into the new year. A ruling on the motion to compel is expected following the court's review of the BBC’s filing.