A federal judge has warned President Donald Trump that he could face sanctions for failing to participate in his lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué A. Lett said in a court order last Friday that she has already “admonished” Trump for his “lack of participation” in his $10 billion lawsuit against the United Kingdom’s public service broadcaster, accusing it of defamation and deception.
The BBC has apologized for the edit but denies defamation. But she said this has been to “no avail,” with the BBC filing five requests on its own because of Trump’s “disregard” of the court’s procedures for discovery disputes, Lett said. The dispute is currently over the BBC’s request for Trump to be questioned under oath.
Trump’s team agreed on a date in October, after months of the BBC following up, but cancelled this late-September citing “matters of national importance,” BBC lawyers said. A few days ago, the BBC asked a court to compel Trump to appear in the case, accusing him of trying to delay a deposition. It came with a separate order that set a discovery hearing for Thursday to consider the BBC’s request to compel Trump and ordered the president to respond to the BBC’s arguments by the same date.
This is not an order to sit for questioning, but to assess whether the court should make it. Trump’s legal team has not directly addressed Lett’s orders, but when Fox News Digital asked for a response, a spokesperson said: "The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election. The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda.
President Trump’s powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing," Newsweek contacted Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito, via email, on Monday, for comment. Trump filed his lawsuit against the BBC in Florida last December, accusing it of a “false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of" him,” calling it “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It was over an episode of the BBC’s Panorama documentary series, called Trump: A Second Chance? which combined portions of Trump’s January 6, 2021, speech delivered nearly an hour apart, making them appear to be part of one continuous statement.
Trump alleges the edit falsely suggested that he directly encouraged supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, damaging his reputation, brand and businesses. His lawsuit seeks $5 billion for alleged defamation and another $5 billion for alleged unfair trade practices.
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