Judge Warns Trump's $10 Billion BBC Lawsuit Could Be Dismissed Over Discovery Noncompliance
MIAMI — President Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation took an unfavorable turn for the plaintiff on October 22, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett warned at a Miami hearing that continued failure to cooperate with discovery could bring sanctions, including dismissal of the case for failure to prosecute.
"The court is not satisfied that anyone is doing a thorough job," Lett told Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito. "This is the last opportunity to do so." The judge gave Trump's team 30 days to turn over relevant documents. BBC attorney Charles Tobin told the court the materials produced so far largely came from public internet sources or from the BBC itself: "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff."
The case already carries a prior order — reported by this site on October 22 — requiring Trump to sit for a deposition by BBC lawyers by December 11. An October 16 session had been canceled, with Trump's lawyers citing "other matters of national importance"; the BBC countered that Trump spent that day campaigning in Georgia, "participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition."
At Thursday's hearing, the judge also rejected Trump's bid to block videotaping of the seven-hour deposition (the recording will be available only to attorneys in the case) and allowed the BBC to proceed with a subpoena involving Mar-a-Lago.
The lawsuit stems from a BBC Panorama documentary that spliced together remarks Trump made at different points of his January 6, 2021, rally before the U.S. Capitol riot. The BBC has acknowledged the edit was "misleading" and apologized, while denying Trump's allegation that it used SI to insert words into his speech.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国总统特朗普（资料图）。白宫官方照片，公共领域，经维基共享资源（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump (file photo). Official White House photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-22Judge Orders Trump to Sit for Deposition by Dec. 11 in $10 Billion BBC Lawsuit
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