The $10bn lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary aired by the BBC that spliced together comments made by Trump during a rally on 6 January 2021, before the US Capitol riot. While the broadcast was not readily available to view in Florida, Trump’s team has argued that Trump was personally damaged by the broadcast under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

At a lengthy hearing in Miami dealing with a variety of discovery issues, federal magistrate judge Enjoliqué Lett addressed three separate matters: the production of internal documents, the terms of a deposition Trump must take, and the discovery schedule that governs the case.

On the deposition itself, Lett ordered Trump to cooperate with the discovery process mandated for his lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December, or face sanctions including the possible dismissal of the $10bn lawsuit. During the hearing, she also rejected a request by Trump’s legal team to prevent the seven-hour-long deposition from being videotaped, though the recording will only be accessible to attorneys in the case.

On document production, Lett agreed with contentions from the BBC’s lawyers that Trump’s team had not been sufficiently forthcoming in handing over internal documents relevant to the case ahead of an 18 December deadline for discovery. Charles Tobin, an attorney for the BBC, argued in the Miami courtroom: “We still have a completely lopsided [situation] here on discovery. They have produced absolutely nothing of any substance.” Tobin said the documents Trump’s team has turned over have primarily been either pulled from the internet or provided by the BBC itself.

Addressing Alejandro Brito, Trump’s Florida-based attorney, Lett said, “It strains credulity that a thorough search has been done in order to determine that all of these requests have been responded to,” and, “The court is not satisfied that anyone is doing a thorough job.” She gave Trump’s legal team 30 days to produce the relevant documents.

While she acknowledged that the discovery process can be “burdensome” on both parties, Lett said that “failure to do so could result in sanctions, including possible dismissal of the suit for failure to prosecute the case and engage in meaningful discovery process.” On the Trump team’s obligation to adequately participate in the discovery process, she said: “This is the last opportunity to do so.”

Lett turned to the BBC’s request to compel the president’s team to agree to a deposition, a previously scheduled date of 16 October having been canceled for what Trump’s counsel said were “other matters of national importance.” The BBC argued that Trump was actually campaigning in Georgia on that day. Brito said the president was “involved in a host of things” on a daily basis that the BBC’s legal team “has no idea” about.

Lett said she was obligated to adhere to the discovery schedule mandated in the case, but that the timeline could be extended by district court judge Jeffrey T Kuntz. Tobin, representing the BBC, said his side is willing to push back the timeline for Trump’s deposition if Kuntz adjusted the discovery schedule.

Lett once again warned that sanctions, including dismissal, could result if Trump’s team did not comply with her deposition order.

A photograph published with the Guardian’s report shows Trump walking to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on 21 October 2026. The image is credited to Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images.