BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition in his own lawsuit against the channel
- Donald Trump sued BBC for $10B over a spliced Jan 6 documentary; BBC already apologized, execs quit.
- Now the Beeb wants to grill him under oath, but the President is suddenly too 'busy' until 2027.
- Court filing claims Trump cancelled an agreed Oct. 16 deposition due to 'matters of national importance' — which apparently includes dodging discovery.
- BBC lawyer: Two months left, and we can't even schedule the most central witness — because the plaintiff runs the country, apparently.
Brief Summary
The BBC is begging a Florida judge to force the Leader Free World to sit down for a deposition in his own $10 billion whine-fest against them. After agreeing to talk on Oct. 16, Trump's lawyers pulled a disappearing act, citing "matters of national importance" — which in Trump-speak usually means "I don't want to answer questions." Delay tactics may work in business, but against a British broadcaster with lawyers who drink tea and file motions on time, it's a different game. Trump filed this suit last December over a documentary that spliced his Jan. 6 speech to make him look like a violent insurrectionist. The BBC admitted the edit was misleading, apologized, and forced out its two top news honchos — but didn't pay up or roll over. Now the cracks are showing: a judge may order the President to testify, and he can't claim "executive privilege" on a lawsuit he filed against a foreign broadcaster. If forced, he'll face questions about what he actually meant on Jan. 6, what he knew about election interference, and why he's suing for $10 billion when the BBC is basically public radio with a tea trolley. Success looks like a humiliating deposition, but failure looks like dismissing a $10 billion ego case weeks before his own character witnesses show up. Either way, Trump walks away not looking like a victim — just a cranky plaintiff who forgot his own discovery deadlines.
Why This Matters
For the average reader with a pulse: this isn't just another Trump lawsuit, it's a preview of the next three years. Trump appears to believe the statute of limitations on his time is optional — and depositions are for the little people. If he successfully punts his sworn testimony until 2027, every defendant with a deep pocket facing a Trump lawsuit just got a roadmap: stall, stall, and stall until the judge loses the will to live. But if the BBC wins this motion, the President could be forced under oath to explain a Jan. 6 speech he's still denying in front of a British judge and a TV audience that already saw the tape. Either way, this fight reveals the dirty secret of his litigation strategy: if you can't beat the facts, bury the calendar.