Judge threatens Trump with sanctions for not making time for deposition in defamation suit he filed

A judge overseeing the $10 billion defamation lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the BBC has threatened the president if he doesn't sit for a deposition as part of the discovery phase of the suit. 

Trump filed the lawsuit last year over the network's "Panorama" documentary that replayed Trump's remarks during the Jan. 6, 2021 protests on the nation's Capitol. Critics have said the documentary was misleading because it omitted Trump calling for supporters to remain peaceful and spliced together a lengthy address in a way that distorted Trump's message that day. 

But Trump has so far been too busy to sit for a deposition in the case, and his legal team has told the BBC that he "has no availability whatsoever" before the discovery period ends on Dec. 18. He's dealing with "matters of national importance," they said, Fox News reported. 

The BBC filed a motion to compel Trump's deposition. Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett on Friday scheduled a hearing by Oct. 22, and said that "the Court expects strict compliance with its 29 Order, the failure of which will lead to sanctions." 

Trump's legal team told Fox that the "now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election."