A federal judge in Miami ordered that President Donald Trump provide a sworn statement before December 11 as part of his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, following the abrupt cancellation of a previously scheduled appearance on October 16.
According to a report by EFE, Judge Enjoliqué Aytch Lett held the hearing and set a new deadline after the Republican leader's lawyers canceled the previous appearance, citing "matters of national importance."
Representatives of the British network responded that on that day Trump was campaigning in Georgia for the November legislative elections and later attended a fundraising event at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The BBC's lawyer, Chuck Tobin, argued before the judge that the president had "prioritized partisan politics" over his obligations to the court. Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, rejected that interpretation and stated that suggesting those two actions were the only matters on the president's mind that day "insults intelligence."
Judge Lett went beyond setting a date and warned that the lawsuit could be dismissed if Trump does not cooperate with the submission of evidence. "The process of gathering evidence is arduous, but it is a burden we take on, especially if we file a lawsuit," she told her lawyers.
Lett also expressed his doubts about the diligence of the president's legal team: "I tend to agree with the defendants that it is hard to believe that a thorough search was conducted to determine that all requests were addressed."
In addition, the magistrate rejected her request to prevent her statement from being recorded on video, although she stipulated that only the lawyers involved in the case could access the recording.
He also ordered the release of the Mar-a-Lago membership records for the past six years, which the BBC is requesting to verify the alleged damage to the president's professional reputation.
The statement to which Trump is summoned is a formal interrogation as part of the evidence-gathering process.
Both the judge and the parties acknowledged that the date could be postponed again if Judge Jeffrey Kuntz, who oversees the overall schedule of the case, decides to extend the deadline for the evidence-gathering process, currently set for December 18.
In December 2025, Trump filed a lawsuit in a federal court in South Florida, accusing the BBC of "maliciously" editing a documentary that aired days before the presidential elections in November 2024.
The program combined two excerpts from the speech delivered on January 6, 2021, in front of the White House—separated by more than 50 minutes in the original—to create the impression that he directly urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and "fight like hell." The lawsuit seeks $5 billion for defamation and another $5 billion for violating a Florida law on deceptive trade practices.
The network admitted that the setup was a "judgment error," and its president, Samir Shah, sent an apology letter in November 2025. However, the corporation rejected the notion that the error amounted to defamation and announced that it would defend itself in court.
In August of this year, Trump amended the lawsuit to limit the scope of the alleged harm to his personal reputation, rather than his businesses, in an apparent attempt to reduce the financial information that the BBC could demand.
The process of obtaining evidence has been particularly contentious: the BBC has issued at least 47 subpoenas directed at current and former government officials, as well as private advisors within Trump's circle, including Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, and former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.
The trial is scheduled for February 15, 2027.
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