The BBC has asked a federal judge to force Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his £7.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, after his legal team said he was no longer available for a scheduled hearing.
According to a filing on Tuesday, the BBC and Trump's legal team had agreed for him to give sworn out-of-court testimony on Friday. Lawyers for the broadcaster said they spent months attempting to secure a location for the deposition from Trump's legal representatives.
His lawyers told the BBC's counsel on September 28 that Trump "is no longer available for his deposition on October 16 due to other matters of national importance". Trump's team said they would quickly come forward with a new date, ultimately suggesting he could be available in either the second or third week of January.
Delay beyond discovery deadline
That would have been well after the deadline to complete the discovery phase, where legal teams exchange and gather evidence and witness information. The BBC then asked a federal judge in Florida to require Trump's team to schedule the deposition as part of the lawsuit.
The BBC's motion says Trump "chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation". The motion continued: "The BBC therefore asks the Court to compel Plaintiff [Trump] to confirm a date for his deposition, notify the BBC of a secure location where such deposition is possible and any other logistics required to ensure Plaintiff's safety, and sit for the deposition, as the core rules of discovery require."
Judge schedules discovery hearing
Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett has scheduled a discovery hearing, likely to include discussion of the deposition issue, for October 22. Lawyers for the BBC wrote: "Nearly eight months into discovery, after seven depositionf 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."
A spokesperson for Trump's legal team said the lawsuit was about "holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing."
Lawsuit over January 6 speech edit
Trump brought legal action against the BBC, claiming a documentary about the 2020 election had been defamatory as it cut together clips of his speech ahead of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. His team alleges the clip made it seem as though Trump had directly encouraged violence.
The BBC later apologised for the edit and for and impression it caused. Trump later brought the lawsuit claiming it damaged his "brand" and "businesses". But the BBC went on to demand for information about the performance of his businesses, before Trump focused the suit to only cover alleged damage to his reputation.
Trump gave a speech in Washington DC on January 6 where he falsely claimed the 2020 election had been stolen by Democrat Joe Biden. He said in clear terms that he would not accept Biden had won the election. He said: "You don't concede when there's theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore."
Following the 70-minute speech, Trump supporters clashed with police outside the Capitol where Republicans and Democrats meet to pass and debate federal laws. Some 174 police officers were injured as well as some rioters and one Trump supporter was shot dead.
