A Miami federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s legal team to explain why they missed a court deadline in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman, a Trump appointee, issued the order demanding an explanation from the lawyers by June 12, 2026.
The deadline in question was set for June 1, 2026, requiring Trump’s team to respond to the BBC’s motion to dismiss the case.
The BBC filed its motion to dismiss on March 16, 2026, arguing the Florida court lacks jurisdiction and that Miami is the wrong venue for the case.
Trump’s lawyer Alejandro Brito, who handles multiple Trump defamation lawsuits, is among those ordered to explain the missed deadline.
Judge Altman questioned whether the BBC’s request to toss the case should now be treated as unopposed, given the failure to respond in time.
“Rather than timely file his response, the plaintiff filed two eleventh-hour procedural motions the day his response was due,” Altman wrote in his order.
“Neither motion explained why the plaintiff delayed so long in seeking the requested relief or asked that we extend the response deadline,” the judge continued.
Altman also warned that Brito and other lawyers could face sanctions for what the judge described as their “apparent disregard of court deadlines.”
This episode forms part of a broader pattern that has emerged across Trump-related litigation, including wrong documents, draft watermarks, missed deadlines, and cases filed in incorrect districts.
The defamation lawsuit itself stems from a clip of a Trump speech that the president alleges was misleadingly edited by the BBC.
Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages from the broadcaster, making it one of the most substantial media defamation claims in recent memory.
The court’s patience with the procedural missteps appears to be wearing thin, with the sanctions warning representing a significant escalation in judicial pressure on the legal team.