The BBC has asked a federal judge in Florida to order President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, after his lawyers canceled an agreed-upon date and proposed delaying it until after the discovery deadline.
In a Tuesday filing, the BBC said the two sides had scheduled the deposition for Friday, but Trump’s lawyers informed them on Sept. 28 that he was “no longer available… due to other matters of national importance.”
They later suggested he could appear in the second or third week of January—after the period for completing discovery ends. The BBC’s lawyers, who had spent months seeking a secure location and pledged to keep it confidential, asked the court to compel Trump’s team to set a date, provide a location, and proceed with the deposition.
“Plaintiff chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation,” the BBC’s motion states. “Nearly eight months into discovery, after seven depositions of BBC witnesses, and with only two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still has not been able to depose… the most central figure in this case.”
Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett has scheduled a discovery hearing for Oct. 22 that is expected to address the issue.
Trump sued the BBC in December 2025 under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act over a Panorama documentary that edited together portions of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech. The BBC has apologized for the edit.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the “formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election,” and accused the network of a pattern of biased coverage.
Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett has scheduled a discovery hearing for Oct. 22 that is expected to address the issue.
Trump sued the BBC in December 2025 under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act over a Panorama documentary that edited together portions of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech. The BBC has apologized for the edit.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the “formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election,” and accused the network of a pattern of biased coverage.