BBC Forces Trump to Sit Down Under Oath in the Lawsuit He Filed Against Them

A federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday that Trump must sit for a deposition in his defamation case by December 11, unless the discovery period is extended. The order came after BBC attorneys pushed the court to compel him to appear.

Trump filed the lawsuit in Florida over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of his speech before the January 6th Capitol riot. His complaint accuses the BBC of “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring” the speech. The BBC apologized for the error, saying the broadcast gave the mistaken impression that Trump made a direct call for violent action. It has asked the court to dismiss the case.

Tobin said that with two months left in the discovery period. Trump had a deposition scheduled for October 16 and canceled it, citing “matters of national importance.” That same day he attended a midterms campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump’s lawyers fired back in a filing Wednesday, claiming the BBC was “wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition.” They said he could appear between January 11 and 22 of next year. The BBC didn’t accept the delay, and the court set the earlier deadline.

This is a fight Trump picked. In July, his own lawyers conceded they had no evidence the documentary was available in the U.S. through BritBox, the BBC’s website, BBC Select or American broadcasters, which is what they originally claimed. Trump then agreed to drop his suit against BBC Studios after the BBC argued it had no role in making the film.

Trump has spent years demanding that other people answer for what they said. The BBC refused to let him dodge his own lawsuit. Now he has a date to sit down and answer under oath.