Trump must sit for BBC lawsuit deposition by 11 December
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by 11 December in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC. The judge warned that missing the deadline could lead to sanctions, including dismissal, unless the discovery period is extended.
The BBC says Trump repeatedly delayed the questioning after cancelling an agreed 16 October date, citing matters of national importance; its lawyer said he was campaigning in Georgia instead. The case concerns a Panorama edit of Trump’s 6 January 2021 speech that the BBC apologised for, while denying defamation. At the same hearing, the parties disputed whether former special counsel Jack Smith should be deposed.
In short
- Trump must attend questioning by 11 December or risk dismissal of his case.
- The BBC says he delayed after cancelling an agreed October date.
- The lawsuit concerns an edited clip of his 6 January speech.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Requiring Trump to give evidence by the deadline would ensure that a party bringing a major defamation claim takes part in the discovery process and allows the case to proceed on a clear timetable. The BBC’s account of repeated delays, including cancellation of an agreed date, supports the view that the court should enforce its schedule and avoid unfairly prolonging the dispute.
The case against
Trump could argue that a deposition is a substantial demand on his time and should be scheduled with due regard to his public duties and other important commitments. A court should also ensure that discovery remains proportionate to the issues in dispute, including whether questioning Trump or Jack Smith is necessary to resolve the claim fairly.
Explained simply
The BBC is the UK’s public service broadcaster, and Panorama is one of its long-running current affairs programmes. The dispute centres on an edited extract of a speech Donald Trump gave on 6 January 2021, the day a crowd of his supporters entered the US Capitol as Congress met to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory.
The BBC apologised for the edit, but says it did not defame Trump. Trump has brought a $10 billion defamation case against the broadcaster; a deposition is a formal interview under oath in which lawyers ask questions as part of gathering evidence for a case.
Jack Smith, mentioned in the proceedings, was the US special counsel who investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of government documents. Whether Smith will be questioned is a separate issue in the case.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Judge orders Trump to sit for deposition as BBC defamation lawsuit backfires”.