A US judge has directed President Donald Trump to give sworn testimony in his defamation lawsuit against the , with a deadline of 11 December. The judge, US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett, said Trump must sit for the deposition by that date unless the discovery period is extended.
The order came after a previously scheduled deposition did not take place. Trump’s legal team cited “matters of national importance” when it was called off on 16 October, a day he spent campaigning in Georgia and at a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
Lawsuit centres on Panorama edit of 2021 speech
Trump is suing the over a Panorama episode that spliced together two separate sections of a speech he delivered before the riot at the US Capitol in 2021. His complaint, filed in Florida, accuses the broadcaster of “intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring” that address, which was given outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
The has apologised for the error. It said the broadcast gave “the mistaken impression that President Trump made a direct call for violent action”.
seeks dismissal as Trump drops claim against Studios
Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the , told the court that “we still haven’t been able to depose the plaintiff”, with two months left in the discovery period. Last week, attorneys asked Lett to compel Trump to sit for the deposition.
The broadcaster has asked the court to throw out the case. It argues that the programme does not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not available in the US. In July, Trump’s lawyers conceded they had no evidence that the documentary was available in the US through the ‘s BritBox subscription service, its website, select or US broadcasters, despite earlier claims about BritBox.
Trump has also agreed to drop his lawsuit against Studios, the corporation’s commercial arm, after the argued that it had “no role in creating or producing the documentary.”
