Driving the news: Judge Enjoliqué Lett ordered Trump to appear before December 11, after the BBC’s lawyers argued that Trump was unduly delaying his appearance.
- In a filing released Wednesday, Trump’s lawyer said the president could appear between Jan. 11 and 22, 2027, and argued that his presidential duties prevent him from showing up for the deposition before then.
- They also claim that the BBC is “wrong to claim that President Trump is avoiding his deposition in this action.”
- The president was originally scheduled to appear for his deposition on October 16. However, according to his lawyers, that appearance was canceled because Trump had to address “matters that have had a significant impact on the national security and economy of the United States,” including the wars in Iran and Ukraine and the White House super intelligence deal.
The other side: BBC lawyers say the president was campaigning in Georgia on Oct. 16, as reflected in a White House press report that includes his travel plans.
- The BBC says the president chose political activity rather than showing up for his original deposition date.
- According to Trump’s daily schedule, he attended an intelligence briefing and had some work time before leaving for a rally in Georgia, then attended an RNC event in Palm Beach, Florida, that evening.
The White House referred Axios to Trump’s personal counsel.
- A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Axios in an emailed statement that the BBC “defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously and deceptively distorting his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election.”
The BBC The legal team did not immediately respond to Axios’ request for comment on the accusations made by Trump’s legal team in its statement.
- When Axios requested comment, lawyers for the BBC told Axios they “had nothing to add.”
Catch up quickly: The defamation suit stems from a documentary broadcast by the BBC that collected excerpts from Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, the day of the riots at the US Capitol.
- The president claimed the edit was defamatory and called on the BBC to make amends by providing financial compensation, in addition to an apology and retraction.
- The BBC later said in a correction note that the clips “unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than extracts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the erroneous impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
- Two senior BBC executives subsequently resigned due to the backlash.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.
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