Donald Trump has been ordered by a US judge to cooperate with the investigative process required for his lawsuit against the BBC and to appear for a deposition by December 11 – or he could be subject to sanctions, including the possible dismissal of the $10 billion lawsuit.
The lawsuit stems from a Panorama documentary broadcast by the BBC that compiled comments made by Trump at a rally on January 6, 2021, before the U.S. Capitol riot. Although the broadcast was not easily accessible in Florida, Trump’s team argued that he was personally harmed by the broadcast under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices law.
During a lengthy hearing covering various discovery issues, federal Judge Enjoliqué Lett on Thursday also denied a request from Trump’s legal team to block videotaping of the seven-hour deposition, although it would only be available to attorneys handling the case.
Lett agreed with BBC lawyers’ assertions that Trump’s team had not been sufficiently willing to turn over internal documents relevant to the case before the Dec. 18 deadline for discovery.
“We are still in a completely unbalanced situation in terms of the preliminary investigation. They have produced absolutely nothing of substance,” argued lawyer Charles Tobin, on behalf of the BBC, in a Miami courtroom.
The documents that Trump’s team handed over were mostly taken from the Internet or provided by the BBC itself.
“It strains credulity that an extensive search was done to determine that all of these requests were answered,” Lett told Alejandro Brito, Trump’s Florida-based lawyer. “The court is not satisfied that anyone is doing a thorough job.”
The judge gave the plaintiffs 30 days to produce the relevant documents. While acknowledging that the discovery process can be “tedious” for both parties, she said “failure to do so could result in sanctions, including possible dismissal of the lawsuit for failure to pursue the matter and engage in a meaningful discovery process.”
Regarding the Trump team’s obligation to adequately participate in the investigative process, the judge said: “This is the last opportunity to do so. »
After discussing the discovery process, the judge turned to the BBC’s request to compel the president’s team to accept a deposition, after an originally scheduled date — Oct. 16 — was canceled over what Trump’s lawyer called “other matters of national importance.” While the BBC noted that Trump was indeed campaigning in Georgia that day, leading Tobin to conclude that the plaintiff’s team had transmitted “fake news,” Brito said the president was “involved in a whole host of things” on a day-to-day basis that the BBC’s legal team “has no idea about.”
While Lett said she was obligated to meet the discovery timeline imposed in the case, that deadline could be extended by District Court Judge Jeffrey T Kuntz. Tobin, representing the BBC, said his team was prepared to push back the timetable for Trump’s deposition if Kuntz adjusted the discovery schedule.
Lett once again threatened sanctions – including termination – if Trump’s team did not comply with his deposition order.
“The lesson of the day is that no plaintiff is above the law, and no plaintiff is above the orders of the court,” Tobin said.
In a filing Wednesday, Trump’s team said he would be prepared to sit for a deposition during the second or third week of January.
During the hearing, Lett also authorized the subpoena of the BBC at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in Florida, despite protests from Trump’s lawyer that the company was separate from the president.
Brito, Trump’s lawyer, said the president did not run the club. “The president’s job is to be president of the United States,” he said. “It has nothing to do with Mar-a-Lago as far as his profession goes.”
Tobin, representing the BBC, fiercely disagreed. “To say that Mar-a-Lago is not tied to this president or his reputation is to ignore the fact that he hosts (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he hosts Irish President (Russian President) Vladimir Putin – he uses Mar-a-Lago as a venue to advertise his reputation as a symbol of his personal power, so it is inextricably linked. His business successes are a measure of his reputation.”
In rendering his decision, the judge recognized that the club “falls within the scope of discoverability”.
“I think this is closely related to his profession and therefore any harm that could be alleged in the course of his trade and occupation would be reflected in the way he conducts his business with Mar-a-Lago, at least for discovery purposes,” she added.
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