A U.S. judge on Thursday (October 22, 2026) issued President Donald Trump a December 11 deadline to testify under oath in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC .
Judge Enjolique Lett in Miami gave the order in response to complaints by the British broadcaster that Mr. If Mr. Trump has refused to sit for a deposition, including canceling a previously agreed date of October 16.
Trump fails to attend the deposition by then, he risks sanctions, including dismissal of his lawsuit, the court said.
Mr. The crowd proceeded to storm Congress in an attempt to stop the formal certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. which prompted the resignation of multiple senior executives, the broadcaster has denied it caused Mr While the BBC has apologised for the incident. Trump any real injury and moved for the case to be dismissed. Mr. Trump’s legal team argued that he was not seeking to avoid a deposition but had been constrained by “matters of national importance. Mr. Trump has made attacks on the media a signature of his two presidential terms, insulting reporters who ask questions he doesn’t like and seeking to ban outlets airing critical reports from the White House. Most recently, the administration has plunged into a legal dispute with CNN, MSNOW and Politico over attempts to bar them from the White House. Trump faces increasing headwinds as he approaches his final years in power.
Capitol on January 6, 2021, after losing the presidential election. Trump filed his suit against the BBC in December 2025 and is seeking at least $5 billion on each of two counts. Trump had no real excuse not to testify and that on October 16, he had only been campaigning, “participating in party politics. In a court filing Wednesday (October 21), Mr. Trump would be able to give a deposition between January 11 and 22. With his approval ratings in the low 30% range and polls showing his Republican Party likely to lose control of the House of Representatives in the November 3 midterm elections, Mr.
Trump has accused the BBC of deceptively editing its documentary “Trump: A Second Chance” to make it seem as if he was inciting violence when he told supporters to march on the U.S. Charles Tobin, a lawyer for the BBC , said in court that Mr. “No plaintiff is above the law,” Mr. Tobin said. The lawyers said Mr.
