Deposition (law)

A federal magistrate judge in Miami ruled that President Trump must sit for a deposition with BBC lawyers by Dec. 11 or risk penalties, including possible dismissal of his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. Trump had skipped a scheduled Oct. 16 deposition, citing other commitments, and proposed mid-January instead; BBC lawyers argued the delay was untenable given his central role in the case.

The suit stems from a 2024 BBC documentary that spliced portions of Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 speech, which he claims misrepresented his remarks and amounted to election interference. The BBC has apologized for the edit but disputes any defamation. The hearing also addressed a BBC subpoena seeking testimony from former special counsel Jack Smith, which Trump's lawyers oppose. Discovery is scheduled to close Dec. 18.

Federal prosecutors announced charges against 28 green-card holders as part of "Operation Protect the Vote," alleging they registered or voted as citizens in California; 11 were arrested. Prosecutors say defendants claimed citizenship on registration forms, in some cases voted, then denied citizenship on naturalization paperwork—felony conduct carrying up to five years, with noncitizen voting in a federal election carrying one year. All defendants are presumed innocent. The case follows separate, unrelated Los Angeles prosecutions over paid registrations and forged petitions. Separately, the Department of Justice is seeking a federal court order blocking ballots tied to more than 20,000 flagged "likely" noncitizen registrants, a figure state officials dispute, with California's attorney general questioning discrepancies in Homeland Security's broader estimates.

A newly public deposition from December 2014 shows Texas Attorney General and GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton repeatedly unable or unwilling to answer federal investigators' questions about his personal finances. The transcript, obtained and authenticated by The New York Times and provided by someone opposed to Paxton's Senate bid, stems from an SEC probe into Servergy Inc., a McKinney, Texas tech startup under scrutiny for alleged false claims to investors. Paxton said "I don't remember" or "I don't recall" more than 200 times, attributing gaps in his knowledge to being busy with legislative work and campaigning, delegating investment matters to staff, and relying on his then-wife, Angela, to handle taxes. He described receiving 100,000 Servergy shares as a gift from the company's founder, calling it consistent with the man's faith, though he admitted it was "not logical."

The SEC later brought civil fraud charges against Paxton that were dismissed; a related state securities fraud indictment ended in a deal with no admission of wrongdoing. Paxton's campaign called the leak a political distraction, as he trails Democratic opponent James Talarico, who is seeking to unseal two other sealed depositions.

Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles misinterpreted a 2019 law entitling qualifying disabled veterans to free specialty license plates, then spent years and hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting a lawsuit over the error rather than promptly correcting it. Army veteran Jack Kacin sued in 2023 after the BMV charged him for plates and failed to refund him despite years of attempts. The agency acknowledged the overcharges but still contested Kacin's bid for class-action status before losing on appeal.

A settlement approved by Judge Lisa Sadler, which could become final by mid-2027, requires the BMV to pay $365,000 in legal fees plus $10,000 to Kacin and to notify veterans who may be owed refunds. The BMV previously refunded about $535,885 to 3,600 veterans, but Kacin's attorney says roughly 23,000 more may still be eligible. Officials cited a "duty to defend" state actions even when disagreeing with them, while critics questioned the cost of contesting a claim the state admitted was valid.

The Iowa State Appeal Board has approved a $287,500 settlement with Charis Paulson, a former director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, resolving a yearslong civil rights lawsuit against the state Department of Public Safety. Paulson, who spent nearly 30 years with the department and became one of the highest-ranking women in Iowa law enforcement, alleged she was pushed out of leadership positions, denied lateral transfers, excluded from key meetings, and retaliated against after complaining about gender discrimination between 2014 and 2019. The state admits no wrongdoing under the agreement.

Paulson filed a civil rights complaint in 2021 and sued later that year; she retired in March 2024. The case also produced a notable Iowa Supreme Court ruling on attorney-client privilege, which barred Paulson from deposing one state attorney but allowed questioning of another. The Attorney General's Office cited that ruling, along with the departure of officials named in the suit, as factors favoring settlement over trial. Paulson will dismiss her lawsuit with prejudice.