A United States judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by 11 December,
The order from US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett came as the BBC's lawyers complained that Trump had delayed his appearance.
Charles Tobin, a lawyer representing the BBC , said that with two months left in the discovery period, "we still haven't been able to depose the plaintiff".
He said there was an agreed-upon date of 16 October for the interview under oath but that the US President cancelled it for a "matter of national importance".
Tobin said Trump was campaigning in Georgia that day.
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"He was participating in party politics and prioritised that over sitting for the deposition," Tobin said.
Lett said Trump must sit for a deposition by 11 December or face having his legal action thrown out - unless the discovery period was extended past 18 December.
The British broadcaster says Trump is trying to delay his appearance until January 2027.
The judge has threatened sanctions if Trump fails to comply with the court's schedule.
Trump, who has often avoided depositions, filed his lawsuit against the BBC last December, seeking US$10 billion (A$14 billion) in damages.
He accused the publicly funded broadcaster of defamation as well as deceptive and unfair trade practices in a misleadingly edited clip of a speech in a Panorama documentary show titled Trump: A Second Chance.
The BBC acknowledged that filmmakers spliced together quotes from different sections of a speech Trump delivered to his supporters on 6 January 2021 before the storming of the US Capitol, to make it seem he was directly urging violence.
The broadcaster apologised over the editing and the head of the BBC and its top news executive both resigned.
The BBC has rejected Trump's claims that it defamed him.
