Trump sued the BBC for $10B. Now it wants his deposition date set
Source published: Oct 15, 2026 · 12:37 PM EDT · Event: 2026-10-13
BBC lawyers have asked a Florida federal court to set a date for Donald Trump's deposition in the $10 billion civil case he brought against the broadcaster. Law&Crime's October 13 report describes a five-page motion saying an October 16 session was canceled and January dates were proposed, beyond the December 18 discovery deadline. The BBC wants a firm date, a secure location and arrangements for sworn questioning. This is a discovery dispute, not a decision on whether the documentary defamed Trump or whether damages are owed.
Response / context
According to the BBC's account quoted in reporting, Trump's lawyers cited presidential duties for canceling the October date. AP reports that his legal team's public response repeated its defamation and election-interference accusations against the BBC without explaining the delay. AP also notes that the broadcaster apologized for its edited January 6 speech clip but denies that it defamed him. The linked motion could not be retrieved for full review; this brief relies on the attributed reports, not an independently reviewed filing. No order compelling a deposition, sanction or dismissal was identified in that material.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Oct 15, 2026 · 12:37 PM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-13. The motion was reported October 13. The publication timestamp is AP's displayed October 15 follow-up time, not a new filing or court ruling.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- Associated Press, Jill Colvin: BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition in his own lawsuit against the channel ↗
Original October 15 reporting; includes Trump's legal team's response, the BBC's apology and its denial of defamation
- Law&Crime, Matt Naham: BBC asks judge to force Trump to set deposition date before discovery closes ↗
Original October 13 reporting quoting the motion and linking its five-page copy; procedural requests, not a court disposition
- BBC court filing / DocumentCloud copy linked by Law&Crime: BBC discovery-hearing motion, October 13, 2026 ↗
Primary filing link provided for readers; access returned 403, so the full document was not reviewed for this brief
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