President Donald Trump must testify under oath by 11 December in his $10 billion (€8.91bn) defamation lawsuit against the BBC, a US judge in Miami has ruled.
Judge Enjolique Lett issued the order after the British broadcaster complained that Mr Trump had declined to give a deposition and cancelled a previously agreed session scheduled for 16 October.
- Advertisement -
Failure to appear by the deadline could result in sanctions, including the dismissal of his lawsuit, the court warned.
The US president claims the BBC deceptively edited its documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance’, creating the impression that he was urging supporters to commit violence when he told them to march on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, following his defeat in the presidential election.
The BBC has apologised for the editing, which led to the resignations of several senior executives. However, it denies that the broadcast caused Mr Trump any actual harm and has asked the court to throw out the case.
The US president has frequently attacked the media during his two presidential terms
President Trump brought the lawsuit against the BBC in December 2025, seeking at least $5bn (€4.4 billion) for each of two claims.
Charles Tobin, representing the BBC, told the court that Mr Trump had no valid reason for refusing to testify. On 16 October, he said, the president had simply been campaigning and “participating in party politics”.
“No plaintiff is above the law,” Mr Tobin said.
In a court filing on Wednesday, Mr Trump’s lawyers said he was not attempting to evade a deposition but had been prevented from attending by “matters of national importance”.
They said Mr Trump could instead provide testimony between 11 and 22 January.
The US president has repeatedly clashed with the media during his two terms in office, insulting journalists and attempting to exclude outlets that broadcast critical coverage from the White House.
Most recently, the Trump administration became embroiled in a legal dispute with CNN, MSNOW and Politico over efforts to prevent them from entering the White House.
