President Donald Trump has been ordered to sit for a deposition by 11 December in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC, following a ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett.

The court order follows complaints from legal counsel representing the BBC regarding delays to Trump's testimony.

Attorney Charles Tobin highlighted that with only two months remaining in the discovery phase, "we still haven’t been able to depose the plaintiff."

Tobin noted that an October 16 meeting had been agreed upon, but the Republican president withdrew from it citing a "matter of national importance." However, Tobin pointed out that Trump was actually attending a campaign event in Georgia on that date.

"He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition," Tobin stated.

Lett ruled that Trump must complete the deposition by Dec. 11 or potentially face sanctions up to the dismissal of his legal action, unless the discovery window is pushed past Dec. 18.

During Thursday's hearing in Miami, legal teams also clashed over whether former special counsel Jack Smith should undergo a deposition in the president’s $10 billion lawsuit — an idea firmly opposed by Trump.

The BBC had approached the judge to compel Trump's attendance after he cancelled an agreed date of Oct. 16, citing "matters of national importance." The broadcaster alleges he is attempting to defer his deposition until January 2027. The judge has threatened sanctions if Trump fails to adhere to the court's schedule.

Trump, who frequently avoids depositions, initiated the $10 billion action last December, alleging defamation alongside deceptive and unfair trade practices regarding the documentary "Trump: A Second Chance."

The BBC acknowledged that filmmakers merged quotes from distinct moments of Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 speech to supporters before the U.S. Capitol riot, creating the impression he was directly encouraging violence. While the broadcaster issued an apology over the editing, resulting in the resignations of the head of the BBC and its top news executive, it rejects Trump's claims of defamation.

To bolster its defense, the broadcaster subpoenaed Smith earlier this month. Trump’s lawyers argued, in a joint filing asking for a hearing on the matter, that there was no good reason for Smith, who is not a party to the case, to appear.

“Smith lacks any personal knowledge regarding the issues in this matter,” they argued in the filing. “He was not present when President Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech … was made, nor did he participate in its preparation. Smith does not have any personal knowledge regarding President Trump’s state of mind at the time the Speech was given.”

Trump's side also argued that “Smith’s testimony would be duplicative,” because he published he lengthy report on the events of January 6 and also testified for many hours. “The entirety of his testimony is publicly available,” it argued.

The BBC countered, in the same filing, that there were few more knowledgeable sources about the events of Jan. 6 than Smith, who studied and investigated them for years.

“It is difficult to imagine a more authoritative source on these issues than Mr. Smith, who spent years gathering evidence on those topics with the force of the Justice Department and the power of the grand jury behind him,” the BBC’s lawyers argued.

“No one forced Plaintiff to file this lawsuit and to dispute that his speech on January 6 incited the violence that followed at the Capitol. But as long as he chooses to maintain the case, he cannot commit the fundamental injustice of preventing the BBC from obtaining the evidence it needs to robustly defend itself on every element of his claim…”

A key question also remains: When will Trump himself appear? In a filing Oct. 13, BBC lawyers said they first requested dates for a deposition in July, and followed up repeatedly, with both sides eventually agreeing on Oct. 16.

After weeks of silence, they wrote, “Plaintiff’s counsel responded on September 28, 2026, indicating that ‘the President is no longer available for his deposition on October 16 due to other matters of national importance’ and that counsel would ‘endeavor to provide you with a replacement date by the end of this week.’ He did not.”

They said they were then told that Trump “has no availability whatsoever for a deposition” before discovery is set to close on Dec. 18, and that Trump would instead make himself available the second or third week of January.

“Two months of discovery remaining, the BBC still has not been able to depose, and does not even have a schedule to depose, the most central figure in this case: Plaintiff himself,” attorney Charles D. Tobin wrote in the filing. “Those delays have flouted the cooperative spirit of discovery and precluded the BBC from obtaining the evidence necessary to robustly litigate its defense.”