The $10 Billion Lawsuit: Court Orders Trump to Submit to "BBC" Lawyer's Interrogation

A US federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump to give sworn testimony to a BBC lawyer by December 11, in a defamation lawsuit Trump filed against the broadcaster seeking $10 billion in damages, over a documentary that included edited clips of his speech before the Capitol riot.

A US federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump to give sworn testimony to a lawyer for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) by December 11, as part of a defamation lawsuit Trump filed against the media organization, seeking $10 billion in damages. The case stems from a BBC documentary that included edited clips of a speech Trump gave before the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump accuses the British broadcaster of splicing parts of his speech in a way that suggested he explicitly called on his supporters to use violence. Despite the BBC apologizing for the editing method, it denies the defamation charge and maintains that the broadcast did not cause the damages the president claims. The judge's decision came after BBC lawyers complained about delays in Trump's deposition, despite a prior agreement to hold it on October 16. Trump's legal team said his commitments to cases of national importance prevented his attendance and proposed postponing the deposition to January 2027. The British broadcaster insisted on questioning him within the judicial schedule for evidence gathering, which is supposed to end on December 18. The judge warned that failure to comply with court requirements for evidence and testimony could lead to sanctions, including dismissal of the case.