BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit
The broadcaster wants the special counsel to testify in its defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit
Photograph: Deadline (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The BBC has subpoenaed special counsel Jack Smith as part of its defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit.
- Trump sued the BBC over a documentary that he alleges falsely portrayed his January 6, 2021 speech.
- The BBC's legal team stated that Jack Smith is not objecting to the subpoena.
- Trump's legal team has opposed the subpoena, arguing Smith lacks personal knowledge of the case.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Attorneys for the BBC want to depose special counsel Jack Smith as part of their defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit stems from a BBC documentary that Trump claims falsely portrayed his January 6, 2021 speech. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to address the dispute over the subpoena.
Disagreement over Jack Smith's deposition
The BBC's legal team noted in a court filing that Jack Smith is not objecting to the subpoena. Trump's legal team, however, has opposed the deposition, contending that Smith lacks any personal knowledge of the issues in the matter. They argue that any evidence Smith gathered consists of secondhand knowledge from materials collected by himself and others. The BBC's lawyers stated that Smith's conclusions are public, but the evidence informing them is not, including evidence that the January 6 violence was foreseeable to Trump and that he caused it.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports printed below mention the BBC's argument that it is seeking to depose Jack Smith on the grounds that the documentary was not shown in the United States, as reported by Deadline.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 19 Oct 2026, 21:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports focused on the BBC's effort to depose Jack Smith as a key part of its defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit. They highlighted that Trump sued the BBC over a documentary he claims falsely portrayed his January 6, 2021 speech. These reports noted that Smith is not objecting to the subpoena, while Trump's legal team has opposed it. Some reports mentioned the BBC's argument that Smith possesses relevant information regarding Trump's speech and its connection to the events of January 6. Alternet noted that Trump faces another setback as his legal team fights the subpoena, and The New Republic suggested Trump is trying to ban Smith's testimony as the BBC lawsuit "implodes."
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports also focused on the BBC's attempt to subpoena special counsel Jack Smith in its defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit. They stated that Trump sued the BBC over a documentary that he alleges falsely portrayed his January 6, 2021 speech. Both Newsweek and Political Wire noted that Smith is not objecting to the subpoena, while Trump's legal team opposes it. Newsweek reported that the lawsuit centers on a BBC Panorama documentary and that the BBC later acknowledged an edit created a mistaken impression of a direct call for violent action. The reports mentioned that a federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday regarding the dispute.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit biased?
- BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered BBC seeks Jack Smith deposition in Trump defamation suit?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why is the BBC seeking to depose Jack Smith?
- The BBC is seeking to depose special counsel Jack Smith as part of its defense against Donald Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit. The broadcaster argues Smith possesses information relevant to whether Trump's January 6 speech conveyed the impression that he fomented or incited the Capitol riot.
- What is Donald Trump suing the BBC for?
- Donald Trump sued the BBC for $10 billion over a documentary titled 'Trump: A Second Chance?' which aired before the 2024 presidential election. Trump claims the documentary falsely and "maliciously" portrayed his January 6, 2021 speech, alleging it was a "brazen attempt to influence the election's outcome."
- What is the BBC's defense against the lawsuit?
- The BBC's defense includes seeking to depose special counsel Jack Smith, who brought an election conspiracy indictment against Trump. The BBC argues Smith's testimony could shed light on whether Trump's speech incited the Capitol riot. The BBC also seeks to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the documentary was not shown in the United States.
- What is the status of the dispute over Jack Smith's deposition?
- Trump's legal team has opposed the subpoena for Jack Smith, contending he lacks personal knowledge of the case. The BBC's legal team noted Smith is not objecting to the subpoena. A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to address the dispute, after the two sides failed to resolve it themselves.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- BBC Seeks Jack Smith Deposition in Trump’s $10 Billion Defamation Case (opens The Wrap in a new tab)
- BBC Seeks Deposition Of Jack Smith In Trump Defamation Lawsuit (opens Deadline in a new tab)
- Trump faces another major setback as legal team fights Jack Smith subpoena (opens Alternet in a new tab)
- Trump Tries to Ban Jack Smith Testimony as BBC Lawsuit Implodes (opens The New Republic in a new tab)
The New Republic — is The New Republic biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
