BBC asks judge to compel Trump to sit for deposition

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 09:58 · Archive

Donald Trump has cancelled his deposition in his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC, and the broadcaster is asking a federal judge to force him to participate.

Donald Trump has cancelled a deposition in his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the BBC. The deposition had been scheduled for 16 October after months of negotiations over the location. On 28 September, Trump's lawyers informed the BBC that he was 'no longer available for his deposition on 16 October due to other matters of national importance'. Trump's team subsequently suggested he might be available in the second or third week of January, which falls after the deadline for completing the discovery portion of the case.

The BBC's lawyers have asked Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett to compel Trump to confirm a deposition date and location. In their filing, they argued that 'Plaintiff chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation' and asked the court to require him to sit for the deposition and notify the BBC of a secure location.

Trump filed the lawsuit last December after alleging that a BBC Panorama documentary about the 2020 election and the Capitol riots defamed him by splicing together clips of his speech to make it sound as though he had encouraged violence. The BBC apologised for the editing error. A discovery hearing likely to address the deposition issue has been scheduled for 22 October.

How it is being reported

• BBC asks judge to order Donald Trump to sit for deposition after last-minute cancellation as part of defamation lawsuitThe BBC has asked a federal judge in Florida to order Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, accusing the President’s legal team of failing to arrange a date for him to give evidence. In a motion filed yesterday, the BBC’s lawyers said the two sides had initially agreed that Mr Trump would be deposed this Friday. However, despite months of efforts to arrange a suitable location, the President’s legal team said he could no longer attend in a last-minute cancellation. According to the filing, Mr Trump’s lawyers informed the BBC’s…GB News · 14 Oct, 11:23
• BBC asks judge to force Donald Trump to sit for lawsuit deposition as President dodges hearingDonald Trump is seeking £7.6 billion in damages from the BBC over an edit of his speech on January 6 before his supporters stormed the Capitol and clashed with police officersThe Mirror · 14 Oct, 09:47
• BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition in $10bn defamation lawsuitThe US president was due to be deposed on Friday but has cancelled due to ‘matters of national importance’The Independent · 14 Oct, 09:33
• BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition as part of his $10bn lawsuitBBC asks US federal judge to compel Trump’s lawyers to schedule deposition after his team canceled initial session The BBC is asking a federal judge in Florida to force Donald Trump to sit for a deposition as part of the president’s $10bn defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster. According to a Tuesday filing, the BBC and Trump’s legal team had agreed for him to be deposed on Friday. The BBC’s lawyers wrote to the judge that they have spent months trying to secure a location for the deposition from Trump’s team. Continue reading...The Guardian · 13 Oct, 21:49

In this story: Donald Trump · BBC · Florida

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