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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Trump demanded $10 billion from the BBC — now the court has ordered him to testify under oath. The case could be dismissed if he refuses.
U.S. federal magistrate judge Angelik Lett on 22 October ordered Donald Trump to give sworn testimony by 11 December 2026 in his own lawsuit against the BBC for $10 billion. The president previously canceled a scheduled deposition on 16 October, citing “matters of national importance.” Instead of testifying, he went to a campaign rally in Georgia and then to a party event at Mar-a-Lago. The court has now warned of sanctions up to dismissal of the case, Bloomberg reports.
Trump filed the $10 billion lawsuit in December 2025 over the BBC Panorama documentary “Trump: A Second Chance?”. The program edited clips of his January 6 2021 speech in a way that created the impression of a direct call to violence before the Capitol attack. Trump called the editing deliberate defamation and interference in the 2024 presidential election. The BBC acknowledged the mistake and apologized; the corporation’s director-general and head of news resigned after the scandal. The broadcaster nonetheless denies the defamation allegations.
BBC lawyer Charles Tobin said the defense had been trying for months to depose the plaintiff but still had not received his testimony. Trump’s lawyers offered to move the procedure to January 2027 and objected to video recording. The judge denied the delay and allowed the testimony to be recorded. The discovery phase closes on 18 December; only the district judge can extend that deadline.
The BBC also won the right to request membership records for Trump’s private club Mar-a-Lago for the years 2020–2026, including the number of applications and the cost of joining. The defense intends to use the information to verify the president’s claimed reputational harm. Trump’s lawyers objected, arguing the club’s popularity does not reflect his personal reputation.
As part of the case, the BBC is also seeking testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the events of January 6. Trump’s team opposes his deposition.
By 11 December the president must answer questions from the company’s lawyers, which he himself is suing for $10 billion. Otherwise he risks losing the ability to seek damages through this suit.
Incredible, but true...
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