Trump ordered to answer questions under oath in BBC lawsuit
A US judge has ordered Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by 11 December, following a cancelled deposition.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- US judge orders Donald Trump to face deposition in BBC lawsuit by 11 Dec.
- Trump cancelled a previous 16 Oct deposition citing national importance duties.
- Lawsuit stems from a Panorama episode editing speech before Capitol riot.
- Trump dropped lawsuit against BBC Studios after learning it had no production role.
A US magistrate judge has ordered Donald Trump to answer questions under oath regarding his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11, unless the discovery period is officially extended. The order came after legal counsel requested that the court compel Trump to face a deposition following a missed scheduled meeting.
Trump previously cancelled a deposition on October 16, citing matters of national importance while he was campaigning for the midterms in Georgia and attending a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The legal dispute originates from an episode of the BBC's Panorama program, which edited together two separate sections of a speech delivered by Trump prior to the 2021 US Capitol riot. The broadcaster later issued an apology for the error, acknowledging that the broadcast created the mistaken impression that Trump directly called for violent action.
In the American legal system, a deposition is a formal out-of-court statement made under oath, recorded verbatim by a court reporter, and usable as evidence during later trial proceedings. Compelling a high-profile figure like Trump to complete this mandatory discovery phase underscores the strict adherence required in US civil litigation procedures regardless of political schedules.
The BBC has requested the court to dismiss the lawsuit entirely, arguing that the program fails to meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not broadcasted within the United States. Concurrently, Trump agreed to drop litigation against BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the network, after it was established that the subsidiary had no involvement in creating or producing the documentary.
Source: BBC World
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