A federal judge ordered Donald Trump on Thursday to sit for a deposition under oath by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett issued the order during a court hearing after the broadcaster accused the president of stalling to avoid answering questions.
The lawsuit, filed in Florida in December 2025, centers on a "Panorama" documentary episode that Trump alleges was "intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively" edited. The program spliced together two different sections of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, before the riot at the U.S. Capitol. The BBC has admitted the edits were misleading and apologized for giving the impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action, but the broadcaster denies legal liability for defamation.
A scheduled deposition on October 16, 2026, was canceled by Trump, who cited "matters of national importance." On that day, Trump attended a campaign rally in Georgia and a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. In a filing on Wednesday, October 21, Trump’s attorneys denied he was avoiding the process, suggesting instead that he could appear between January 11 and January 22, 2027, due to his duties and security requirements. BBC lawyers argued that with two months remaining in the discovery period, they had yet to depose the plaintiff.
The outcome of this case affects the BBC, a publicly funded international broadcaster, and the legal standards for defamation involving public officials. Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages. The BBC is seeking access to financial records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and his business entities to defend against these claims, arguing the information is necessary to evaluate the alleged damages.
For the BBC, the case has resulted in internal consequences, including high-level resignations following a leaked internal memo that cited the edits as evidence of potential political bias. For Trump, the deposition requires him to provide testimony under oath, which is recorded verbatim by a court reporter and can be used as evidence during a future trial. The court is also considering the BBC’s motion to dismiss the case, based on its argument that the documentary did not meet defamation criteria and was not available for viewing within the United States.
While Trump's lawyers initially claimed the documentary was available on BritBox or the BBC website in the U.S., they conceded in July 2026 that they had no evidence of domestic availability. Trump has already dropped BBC Studios, the organization's commercial arm, from the suit. Under the current court order, the deposition must take place by December 11, 2026, unless the judge grants an extension to the discovery period.