A US judge ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, threatening sanctions including possible dismissal if he refuses to cooperate with the discovery process.
Trump filed the lawsuit over a BBC Panorama documentary that edited together comments he made during a rally on January 6, 2021, before the Capitol riot. Trump's legal team argues he suffered personal damage under Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, though the broadcast was not readily available to view in Florida.
The judge's order requires Trump to participate in standard pretrial discovery procedures. Failure to comply by the December 11 deadline could result in sanctions. Dismissal of the entire lawsuit represents the most severe potential consequence.
The case hinges partly on the limited circulation of the BBC documentary in Florida, where Trump is based and where the lawsuit was filed. The suit challenges the editorial decisions made by the BBC in assembling Trump's rally statements for broadcast.