A federal judge on Oct. 22 ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett said at a hearing that Trump must sit for a deposition by then or face sanctions, including dismissal of his lawsuit against the BBC. The only exception is if the discovery period is extended past Dec. 18.
The discovery period, in which lawyers for both sides exchange documents and other evidence, is scheduled to end on Dec. 18. The BBC’s lawyers want to ensure that they have Trump’s deposition before that deadline.
Trump sued the BBC in late 2025, accusing the outlet of defaming him by splicing together clips of remarks made ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol. Trump is seeking $10 billion.
Trump had been scheduled to be deposed in the case on Oct. 16, but his lawyers canceled the deposition, citing “matters of national importance” such as the war in Iran and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
BBC attorney Charles Tobin noted that Trump was campaigning in Georgia on Oct. 16.
“He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition,” Tobin said.
BBC lawyers have complained that they have worked hard to set a date to depose Trump but that it has not happened.
“Nearly eight months into discovery, after seven depositions of BBC witnesses, and with only two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still has not been able to depose, and does not even have a schedule to depose, the most central figure in this case: Plaintiff himself,” they said in a filing.
The BBC has been willing to accommodate the president by taking his deposition at a location of his choosing and complying with any security protocols the Secret Service requires, according to court documents.
Trump’s lawyers had urged the judge before the hearing not to force him to sit for a deposition on a certain date.
“In each instance of a President providing testimony, the testimony was taken at the White House or at a location arranged around the President’s protective detail, on a date set to accommodate his duties rather than the convenience of the party seeking it,” they said in a brief.
“That is all President Trump seeks here: a date within a defined window and a setting that the Secret Service can secure. Defendant, by contrast, asks the Court to wrongly treat the President as any other deponent and to disregard the considerations the Supreme Court has twice said must ‘inform the conduct of the entire proceeding.’”
The lawyers said in the document that Trump was unavailable this year but could be deposed between Jan. 11, 2027, and Jan. 22, 2027.
As those dates approached, Trump would confer with the BBC and confirm a specific date so details could be worked out, lawyers added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
