Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Now Puts Him Under Oath—or at Risk of Dismissal

Trump’s BBC Lawsuit Now Puts Him Under Oath—or at Risk of Dismissal
Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC has entered a more consequential phase: the plaintiff himself must now answer questions under oath, or risk seeing his case weakened—or dismissed. Conservative coverage centered on the court’s December 11 deadline.

The order came from U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett during a hearing in Miami. Liberal accounts emphasized not only the deposition deadline but also the broader discovery fight, portraying Trump’s legal team as repeatedly resisting demands for documents and testimony. The judge rejected Trump’s request to prevent the seven-hour deposition from being videotaped, although access will be limited to attorneys in the case.

The BBC argues that Trump is the “most central figure in this case” and that refusing to question him could imperil his claim. Its lawyer, Charles Tobin, said discovery remained “completely lopsided” because Trump’s team had produced “absolutely nothing of any substance.” Lett warned that continued failures could bring sanctions, including dismissal, calling this Trump’s “last opportunity” to comply.

Trump’s lawyers, by contrast, have maintained that the case is a “powerhouse lawsuit” holding the BBC accountable for “defamation and reckless election interference.” They proposed a deposition in January, while disputing the relevance of demands for Mar-a-Lago records and testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith.

The lawsuit concerns a BBC documentary that edited together portions of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech. The network has apologized for the editing and said it “sincerely regrets” it, but denies that the mistake supports a defamation claim. The immediate issue, however, is procedural: unless the schedule changes, Trump must testify by December 11, with discovery set to close on December 18.