A federal judge has warned Donald Trump that the president's $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC could be dismissed if he does not produce more relevant documents or evidence showing his legal team's search for them. Trump’s legal team had until October 21 to confirm its written answers were accurate and provide any relevant documents not in dispute. This is part of the discovery in Trump's claim that the BBC defamed him when editing together two different sections of a speech he gave before the U.S.
The BBC has apologized for the edit but denies defamation. The response "consisted of a mere twenty documents, all of which were previously produced by Defendant and/or retrieved from the internet in the days leading to the production date," Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué A. She added that Trump's team acknowledged they had not produced a log identifying documents withheld on the basis of privilege.
"Given the nature of the requests, the paucity of the production, and the steps counsel undertook to ensure that all responsive documents were collected, the Court has concerns about whether an adequate search for all responsive documentation occurred," Lett added. The judge ordered Trump's team to provide a privilege log by November 5 and any remaining undisputed responsive documents by November 23. "Failure to comply with this order may result in sanctions, including but not limited to, dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute this case," Lett said.
The order is the latest development in an increasingly contentious discovery process. The BBC seeks to question Trump about his claims that a documentary aired by its Panorama program was unfairly edited. The documentary, which aired in November 2025 in the U.K., cut together two comments made an hour apart by Trump at a rally on January 6, 2021, before the U.S.
The BBC later acknowledged that the edit was misleading and removed it from the show. Trump subsequently claimed that the broadcaster went further and used AI to insert words into his speech, a claim for which he has not provided evidence. Trump has also been ordered to sit for a deposition by December 11.
However, in an October 21 filing, his lawyers said he would instead make himself available during the "second or third week of January 2027." In a filing earlier this month, the BBC accused Trump of seeking to delay his deposition until next year. "With 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. "Those delays have flouted the cooperative spirit of discovery and precluded the BBC from obtaining the evidence necessary to robustly litigate its defense." Meanwhile, U.S.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
