President Donald Trump was due to be deposed Friday in a defamation lawsuit he filed against the British Broadcasting Corporation, but his lawyers recently canceled the session and said he would not be available until at least mid-December, according to a court filing.
“The President is no longer available for testimony on October 16 due to other matters of national importance,” Trump’s lawyers told the BBC late last month, the network’s lawyers said Tuesday. BBC asks judge to force Asset set a firm date to submit to questioning in the case.
“Nearly eight months after discovery, after seven depositions from BBC witnesses, and with only two months of discovery, the BBC still has not been able to depose, and does not even have a timetable for deposing, the most central figure in this case: the plaintiff himself,” the BBC lawyer said. Charles Tobin wrote. “There is hardly a more crucial and relevant element of discovery in a defamation lawsuit than the plaintiff’s deposition.”
Tobin said Trump’s lawyers agreed to the October 16 date in July, subject to an agreement to keep the location and other details secret for security reasons. Trump’s lawyers indicated on September 28 that the October 16 date was no longer feasible and recently proposed delaying the filing until January, according to the new filing.
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