Trump ordered to sit for deposition in his $10 billion BBC lawsuit

By Jack Queen

Oct 22 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, which has accused the US president of stalling to avoid answering questions under oath.

Trump is suing Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster for at least $10 billion over a misleadingly edited clip of a speech. The case is one of several Trump has privately filed against the news media as part of a wider pressure campaign against coverage he dislikes. 

US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett ordered Trump to take questions from the BBC’s lawyers under oath in a ruling from the bench at a court hearing on Thursday, according to a spokesman for Trump’s personal legal team. Trump canceled a deposition in October, citing conflicts with his presidential duties. 

The Trump spokesman said the lawsuit is aimed at holding the BBC accountable for defamation and “reckless election interference.”

The BBC declined to comment. It previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump, though it denies being liable for defamation. 

Trump’s lawsuit filed in December in Florida federal court accuses the BBC of intentionally misleading viewers into thinking he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol by splicing together different parts of a January 6, 2021, speech. 

In court filings, the broadcaster has accused Trump and his lawyers of dragging their feet in response to their requests for records and other information that is exchanged between parties in a process known as discovery. 

The BBC is seeking financial records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and the web of business entities associated with him, saying the information is necessary to defend against Trump’s damages claims. 

Trump’s lawyers say the requests are too broad and irrelevant to the case. They have also denied in court filings that Trump is avoiding a deposition, saying Trump’s duties and security needs must take precedence. 

The edited speech appeared in a BBC “Panorama” documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won. A leaked internal BBC memo cited the edits as evidence of potential political bias, sparking a public relations crisis for the broadcaster and leading to high-level resignations. 

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis)