Judge Orders Trump Deposition by Dec 11 in $10 Billion BBC Defamation Lawsuit A U.S. magistrate judge ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by Dec. 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, or face sanctions up to dismissal. The judge also ruled on video recording, Jack Smith's testimony, and Mar-a-Lago membership records. MIAMI -- A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered U.S. President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his US$10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC by Dec. 11. The order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett came as BBC lawyers complained that Trump had delayed his appearance. Attorney Charles Tobin said that with two months left in the discovery period, we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff. He noted there was an agreed-upon date of Oct. 16, but that Trump had cancelled it for a matter of national importance. Tobin said the Republican president was in fact campaigning in Georgia that day.Trump Ordered To Sit For DepositionHe was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition, Tobin said. Lett said Trump must sit for a deposition by Dec. 11, or face sanctions up to dismissal of his lawsuit, unless the discovery period was extended past Dec. 18. Discovery, where lawyers for both sides exchange documents and other evidence, is scheduled to end Dec. 18, and the BBC's attorneys want to make sure they have Trump's deposition before that deadline.Lett said only the presiding judge assigned to the case can alter the trial schedule, and the defence said it would be open to scheduling the deposition at a later time if the trial schedule was also moved back. Trump's attorneys also argued against recording his deposition on video, asking for only a court reporter. The judge ruled that the deposition could be recorded on video but only for attorneys, meaning it would not be released to the public.Trump, who has often avoided depositions, filed his lawsuit against the BBC last December. He accused the publicly funded broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices related to a documentary, Trump: A Second Chance. The BBC acknowledged that filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of the speech Trump delivered to his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, to make it seem he was directly urging violence.The broadcaster apologized over the editing, and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned. But the BBC has denied Trump's claims that it defamed him. To bolster its defence, the broadcaster subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith earlier this month.Uncertainty Over Jack Smith DepositionMeanwhile, it remained uncertain whether Smith would be allowed to sit for a deposition. Federal rules require current and former employees to receive permission from agency heads before testifying in court cases. Smith has requested permission but has not received an answer, and the judge ruled that the department must respond to him by Nov. 2. At issue in Thursday's hearing was whether Smith had received the legally required permission from the Department of Justice.Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Feeley told the judge that Smith had sent a letter to the department saying he would not testify without permission, and the agency had not yet responded. Lett ordered the department to respond to Smith by Nov. 2. It seems unlikely that the department would grant Smith permission, or that he would move forward without it.Earlier in the hearing, Tobin argued that Smith has not objected to being deposed for this case, meaning the only objection is coming from Trump. Tobin said the BBC is not trying to relitigate the events of Jan. 6, but Smith is one of the leading experts in what happened that day, and his deposition could lead the BBC to evidence that could help their case.We can argue later on whether his testimony is admissible, Tobin said, but we are entitled to that deposition. Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, said Smith has no personal knowledge of Trump's Jan. 6 speech or Trump's state of mind when he gave it. All of Smith's knowledge about the case is secondhand, Brito argued, and the special counsel's report, along with Smith's testimony before Congress, is all public and available to the BBC's attorneys.Trump's lawyers argued, in a joint filing asking for a hearing on the matter, that there was no good reason for Smith, who is not a party to the case, to appear. Smith lacks any personal knowledge regarding the issues in this matter, they argued in the filing. He was not present when President Trump's January 6, 2021, speech was made, nor did he participate in its preparation.Smith does not have any personal knowledge regarding President Trump's state of mind at the time the Speech was given. Trump's side also argued that Smith's testimony would be duplicative, because he published a lengthy report on the events of January 6 and also testified for many hours. The entirety of his testimony is publicly available, it argued.The BBC countered, in the same filing, that there were few more knowledgeable sources about the events of Jan. 6 than Smith, who studied and investigated them for years. It is difficult to imagine a more authoritative source on these issues than Mr. Smith, who spent years gathering evidence on those topics with the force of the Justice Department and the power of the grand jury behind him, the BBC's lawyers argued.No one forced Plaintiff to file this lawsuit and to dispute that his speech on January 6 incited the violence that followed at the Capitol. But as long as he chooses to maintain the case, he cannot commit the fundamental injustice of preventing the BBC from obtaining the evidence it needs to robustly defend itself on every element of his claim.Judge Allows Access To Mar-a-Lago RecordsThe judge agreed that the BBC should be allowed to see records for the total number of applications for membership at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida from Jan. 6, 2020, through Jan. 6, 2026, as well as the total cost of membership and initiation fees for new applicants. Tobin said one aspect of any defamation case is showing actual damages, and the popularity of Mar-a-Lago is a significant indicator of Trump's reputation.The BBC's lawyer described the private club as a place where he exhibits his reputation in front of people who are important.