Donald Trump to sit for in-person deposition in libel lawsuit next week

A federal judge in Florida on Friday ordered President-elect Donald Trump to give an in-person deposition for his libel lawsuit against the ABC next week. 

Trump filed the lawsuit against the network earlier this year after ABC News Host George Stephanopoulos claimed on air that Trump raped writer E. Jean Carroll, despite him never being convicted of rape. Carroll did win a civil sexual abuse case against Trump last year, but the jury did not determine that Trump's conduct amounted to rape.

Miami-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid on Friday said Trump and Stephanopoulos will both give depositions next week, which will both be limited to four hours. But Trump is the only one who has been ordered to do so in person. Stephanopoulos' legal team can decide whether its client will be in-person or virtual.

“The parties are reminded that the Court ‘has already granted a lengthy discovery period . . . and, with Election Day now behind us, there is no reason for any further delay,’” Reid wrote in the order. "The parties shall continue to meet and confer regarding their remaining discovery disputes."

Trump previously claimed that "Stephanopoulos' false, defamatory, and misleading statements about Plaintiff immediately spread like wildfire, as numerous third parties and media outlets repeated and reposted them to countless viewers." 

The case is just one of several libel lawsuits that Trump has filed against media outlets in the past four years. Trump can still decide to drop the lawsuits in order to focus on his upcoming administration, but a representative last week said the former president intends to continue with cases, according to Politico.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.