Judge Orders Trump to Sit for Deposition in $10bn BBC Lawsuit or Face Dismissal

A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to cooperate with the discovery process in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December, warning that failure to comply could bring sanctions including possible dismissal of the suit.

The case stems from a BBC Panorama documentary that spliced together comments Trump made at a rally on 6 January 2021, before the US Capitol riot. Although the broadcast was not readily available in Florida, Trump's team argues he was personally damaged under Florida's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

During a lengthy hearing on Thursday, federal magistrate judge Enjolique Lett also rejected a request by Trump's lawyers to prevent the seven-hour deposition from being videotaped, though the recording will be accessible only to attorneys in the case.

Lett agreed with the BBC's lawyers that Trump's team had not been sufficiently forthcoming in handing over internal documents ahead of an 18 December discovery deadline. BBC attorney Charles Tobin told the Miami courtroom the situation remained completely lopsided and that the other side had produced nothing of substance.

Tobin said the documents Trump's team had turned over were mostly either pulled from the internet or provided by the BBC itself. Lett told Trump's Florida attorney Alejandro Brito that it strained credulity that a thorough search had been done, and that the court was not satisfied anyone was doing a thorough job.

The judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to produce the relevant documents. While acknowledging discovery can be burdensome for both sides, she warned that failure could result in sanctions, including possible dismissal for failure to prosecute and engage meaningfully in discovery. She said this was the last opportunity to do so.

A previously scheduled deposition date of 16 October had been cancelled by Trump's counsel citing other matters of national importance. The BBC noted Trump was actually campaigning in Georgia that day, leading Tobin to describe it as fake news from the plaintiff's team. Brito replied that the president is involved in a host of things daily that the BBC's lawyers have no idea about.

Lett said she was obliged to follow the case schedule, though district judge Jeffrey T Kuntz could extend it. Tobin said the BBC was willing to push back the deposition timeline if Kuntz adjusted the discovery schedule. Lett again threatened sanctions, including dismissal, if Trump's team did not comply.

In a filing on Wednesday, Trump's team said he would be willing to sit for a deposition during the second or third week of January. During the hearing, Lett also allowed the BBC's subpoena to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida club, to proceed, despite protests that the business is separate from the president.

Brito argued the president does not run the club and that his occupation is president of the United States. Tobin vehemently disagreed, saying Mar-a-Lago is inextricably intertwined with Trump's reputation because he hosts world leaders there, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In her ruling, the judge agreed the club falls within the scope of discoverability, saying it is intertwined with his profession and any alleged harm to his professional reputation would be reflected in how he conducts business there. In Tobin's words, the lesson of the day is that no plaintiff is above the law, and no plaintiff is above the orders of the court.