A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by 11 December. Trump is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the riot at the US Capitol in 2021.
Court Proceedings
Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the BBC, stated in court that "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff" with two months left in the discovery period. Trump had previously cancelled a deposition scheduled for 16 October, citing "matters of national importance" while he was campaigning in Georgia.
In US law, a deposition is an out-of-court statement made under oath in response to questions, which is recorded for use in later proceedings. The judge in the case, US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, mandated that Trump must sit for the deposition by 11 December, unless the discovery period is extended.
Recent Developments
Last week, attorneys requested that Judge Lett compel Trump to face deposition after the last scheduled meeting did not take place. On that day, Trump attended a midterms campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, and a fundraiser at his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
