Miami, Florida — The Dec. 11 deadline was set on Thursday during a hearing where U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett heard complaints from the BBC's lawyers that they have been unable to question the plaintiff, even with only two months left in the discovery period.
"We still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff," attorney Charles Tobin told the court.
Both sides had agreed on Oct. 16 for the deposition. Trump's counsel informed the BBC on Sept. 28 that he was no longer available on that date due to "other matters of national importance," according to the BBC's Oct. 13 filing — a filing made after the broadcaster first requested dates in July.
Tobin told the court Trump was campaigning in Georgia on Oct. 16. "He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition," Tobin said.
Failure to appear by the deadline set by Lett will expose Trump to sanctions up to dismissal of his case, unless the discovery period is extended beyond its current Dec. 18 closing date. His lawyers had told the BBC he had no availability before that closing date and would instead be available in the second or third week of January.
The case was filed last December over "Trump: A Second Chance," a documentary about Trump. In the filing, the publicly funded broadcaster was accused of defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices in its editing of his Jan. 6, 2021 speech, in which quotes from different sections were spliced together to make it seem he was directly urging violence.
The BBC apologized for the editing, and its head and top news executive resigned following the disclosure. It has denied that the documentary defamed Trump.
Friday, October 23, 2026 — The same Thursday hearing in Miami also opened the case on three more fronts, as the BBC pressed to question former special counsel Jack Smith and to examine records from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club.
To bolster its defense, the broadcaster subpoenaed Smith earlier this month. Tobin argued that Smith has not objected to being deposed, meaning the only objection is coming from Trump. He said the BBC is not trying to relitigate the events of Jan. 6, but that Smith is one of the leading experts in what happened that day, and his deposition could lead the BBC to evidence that could help their case. "We can argue later on whether his testimony is admissible," Tobin said, "but we are entitled to that deposition."
Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, said Smith has no personal knowledge of Trump's Jan. 6 speech or Trump's state of mind when he gave it. All of Smith's knowledge about the case is secondhand, Brito argued, and the special counsel's report, along with Smith's testimony before Congress, is all public and available to the BBC's attorneys.
Whether Smith can sit at all is now in the Justice Department's hands. Federal rules require current and former employees to receive permission from agency heads before testifying in court cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Feeley told the judge that Smith had sent a letter to the department saying he would not testify without permission, and the agency had not yet responded. Lett ordered the department to respond to Smith by Nov. 2.
The hearing also settled how Trump's own deposition will be recorded. His attorneys argued against recording it on video, asking for only a court reporter. Lett ruled that the deposition could be recorded on video but only for attorneys, meaning it would not be released to the public.
Lett further agreed that the BBC should be allowed to see records for the total number of applications for membership at Mar-a-Lago from Jan. 6, 2020, through Jan. 6, 2026, as well as the total cost of membership and initiation fees for new applicants. Tobin said one aspect of any defamation case is showing actual damages, and the popularity of Mar-a-Lago is a significant indicator of Trump's reputation, describing the private club as "a place where he exhibits his reputation in front of people who are important to him." Brito argued that Trump does not actually run Mar-a-Lago, and that his reputation is not associated with the club.