Donald Trump wants the BBC to pay a staggering $10 billion over a documentary about January 6. But as his legal team tries to block the network from questioning former special counsel Jack Smith, the BBC is pushing back—and it isn’t backing down.
The BBC has subpoenaed Smith as it prepares to defend itself against Trump’s defamation lawsuit. The president accuses the British broadcaster of deceptively editing his 2024 documentary about the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, allegedly making it appear that he encouraged the violence.
Now, the BBC wants Smith to testify. And Trump’s lawyers are fighting to stop it.
In a court filing Friday, Trump’s legal team argued that Smith has no personal knowledge of the issues at the heart of the lawsuit.
Smith wasn’t present when Trump delivered his January 6 speech, his lawyers pointed out, and he had no role in preparing it. They also argued that Smith has no firsthand knowledge of Trump’s state of mind at the time, adding that evidence gathered during his investigation came from materials collected from other sources.
But the BBC’s attorneys say those arguments don’t justify blocking the deposition.
“None of [Trump]’s arguments for blocking the deposition of Mr. Smith can withstand scrutiny,” the network’s lawyers wrote.
They also noted that Smith himself does not object to testifying. And the BBC argues that Trump still has to prove his central allegation: that the documentary falsely portrayed him as having incited the Capitol violence.
Trump is asking for billions of dollars in damages, but the BBC says it must be allowed to gather the evidence needed to defend itself.
“No one forced Plaintiff to file this lawsuit,” the BBC’s attorneys wrote, arguing that Trump cannot pursue the case while preventing the network from obtaining evidence relevant to his claims.
And Jack Smith isn’t the only person Trump’s legal team is trying to keep out of the picture.
Trump’s attorneys are also fighting efforts to depose the president himself, subpoena his children for testimony, and examine his finances.
Those disputes could turn the lawsuit into a much broader legal battle over what evidence the BBC can examine—and what Trump may have to answer under oath.
