A Miami judge has ordered President Donald Trump to give a sworn deposition by December 11 in his US$10 billion defamation case against the BBC, after the broadcaster complained he had refused to sit for questioning—including cancelling a previously agreed date of October 16.

Judge Enjolique Lett issued the order on Thursday in response to the BBC’s complaints that Trump had been avoiding the deposition. The case centres on the BBC documentary “Trump: A Second Chance,” which Trump accuses the broadcaster of deceptively editing to make it appear he incited violence when he told supporters to march on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, after losing the presidential election. The crowd went on to storm Congress in an attempt to stop certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

The BBC has apologised for the incident, which prompted the resignation of several senior executives, but denies it caused Trump any real injury and has moved to have the case dismissed. Trump filed the suit in December 2025 and is seeking at least US$5 billion on each of two counts.

In court, BBC lawyer Charles Tobin said Trump had no real excuse not to testify, declaring that “no plaintiff is above the law.” Trump’s legal team argued in a filing on Wednesday that he was not trying to avoid the deposition but had been constrained by “matters of national importance,” proposing that he testify between January 11 and 22 instead.

The judge’s deadline means Trump must now sit for questioning before the December date, keeping the high-stakes case on track as it moves toward trial.