Trump ordered to testify in $10bn BBC lawsuit discovery: What happens now?

What the report says

A federal judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to sit for questioning under oath in the discovery phase of his $10bn lawsuit against the BBC, according to Al Jazeera. The ruling, issued in Miami on Thursday, sets a December 11 deadline for Trump to make himself available unless the court extends the evidence-gathering period, which is currently due to end on December 18.

The case stems from a BBC Panorama documentary that combined separate parts of Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech before the attack on the US Capitol. The BBC has apologised for the edit, which it says created a misleading impression, but it denies that Trump has a valid defamation claim and has asked for the case to be dismissed. Trump filed the suit in Florida in December 2025, seeking at least $5bn for defamation and another $5bn under a state consumer-protection law.

Judge Enjolique Lett also rejected Trump’s request to delay the deposition until January and denied his effort to block filming of the session, although access to the recording will be limited to lawyers involved in the case. The court gave Trump’s team 30 days to produce documents requested by the BBC.

The dispute also raises jurisdiction questions, with the BBC arguing the programme was made in London and was not broadcast in the US. If Trump does not comply with the discovery order, the judge warned that sanctions could follow, including dismissal of the lawsuit. In general, that would mean the case could be thrown out before trial if procedural obligations are not met.