A federal magistrate judge in Miami has ordered President Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, the Associated Press reports. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett’s order carries a pointed warning: miss the date, and he faces sanctions up to dismissal of his own lawsuit. Discovery in the case closes December 18.
The suit concerns the BBC documentary “Trump: A Second Chance,” which spliced together parts of the president’s January 6 speech. The BBC has admitted the edit was misleading and has apologized for it, while denying that it defamed him.
The deposition fight has a history the BBC’s lawyer put on the record. Charles Tobin told the court that an agreed deposition date of October 16 was canceled for what was described as a “matter of national importance” — while the president was in fact campaigning in Georgia. “He prioritized that over sitting for the deposition,” Tobin said. Running alongside the scheduling fight is a second one: the BBC’s effort to reach the president’s Mar-a-Lago financial records.
The Facts
- The order: Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett; deposition by December 11; discovery ends December 18; sanctions for missing the date run up to dismissal of the suit (AP).
- The case: Trump’s $10 billion defamation suit over the BBC documentary “Trump: A Second Chance” and its spliced January 6 speech edit.
- The BBC’s position: the edit was misleading and it has apologized; it denies defamation.
- BBC counsel Charles Tobin: an agreed October 16 deposition was canceled for a “matter of national importance” while Trump campaigned in Georgia.
Sources: The Associated Press.
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