Defamation Suit: BBC Seeks Trump Deposition Date

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has asked a judge to order United States President Donald Trump to set a firm date to give sworn testimony in his $10-billion defamation lawsuit against the network, court filings showed.

Trump’s lawyers had previously agreed to the president sitting for a deposition on October 16, but said late last month it was no longer possible and proposed rescheduling to January, the British broadcaster’s legal team wrote in a court filing on Tuesday.

The BBC’s lawyers have asked the court in Florida to compel Trump to provide a date and address the matter at a hearing scheduled for October 22 to consider other procedural issues.

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The lawsuit centres on the BBC’s editing of a documentary featuring Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech, delivered shortly before his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The case is scheduled for trial in February 2027.

In its court filing, the BBC’s legal team argued that the broadcaster had been unable to question Trump despite months of discovery proceedings, during which seven BBC witnesses had already given depositions. With only two months remaining in the discovery period, the lawyers said there was still no confirmed schedule for the president’s testimony.

“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,” the BBC’s lawyers wrote.

Trump filed the lawsuit in December 2025, seeking at least $5 billion in damages for each of two defamation claims, bringing his total demand to $10 billion.