一名法官威胁要对唐纳德·特朗普总统进行制裁，原因是他未能在其对英国广播公司（BBC）提起的100亿美元诽谤诉讼中参加强制性证词作证。
A judge threatened to sanction President Donald Trump for failing to sit for a mandatory deposition in the $10 billion defamation suit he filed against the British Broadcasting Corp.
“法院已多次警告原告其缺乏参与，但未见成效，”美国地方法院治安法官恩乔利克·A·莱特在迈阿密的一份简短命令中表示。“今后，法院期望严格遵守其命令，违反将导致制裁。”莱特是在回应BBC的一项动议时作出此番表态的，该动议要求特朗普在证词作证中回答其问题——他一直试图推迟此次作证，包括原定于周五举行的一次会议，“理由是其他国家重要事务”。根据该命令，法官已安排于10月22日就此问题举行听证会。
“The court has admonished plaintiff for his lack of participation to no avail,” US Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett said in a brief order in Miami. “Going forward, the court expects strict compliance with its order, the failure of which will lead to sanctions.”Lett made the comment in response to a BBC motion to compel Trump to answer their questions in a deposition — which he has tried to postpone, including a session scheduled for Friday, “due to other matters of national importance.”The judge scheduled a hearing by Oct. 22 on the issue, according to the order.
特朗普法律团队的一位发言人未对法官的命令发表评论，但表示，总统的“强有力诉讼正让BBC为其诽谤和鲁莽的选举干涉承担责任，就像他让其他假新闻主流媒体为其不当行为负责一样。”BBC未能立即回应寻求置评的信息。
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team did not comment on the judge’s order, but said that the president’s “powerhouse lawsuit is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference just as he has held other fake news mainstream media responsible for their wrongdoing.”The BBC didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
今年2月，该法官就诉讼中的证据开示程序发布了一项程序命令，双方在此过程中请求证据和证词，称其“可能施加制裁，金钱性或其他任何类型，如果其认定证据开示是不当寻求的，或是出于恶意或缺乏实质性依据而被扣留。”本周早些时候，BBC在一份文件中称，特朗普的律师告诉该新闻机构，总统“在所谓的证据开示期结束前（即12月18日）完全没有时间参加证词作证。”该律师表示，特朗普将在1月的第二或第三周有空，但未提供具体日期，BBC在文件中如此称。
The judge in February issued a procedural order on the discovery process in which both sides in a lawsuit request evidence and testimony, saying that she “may impose sanctions, monetary or any other type, if it determines discovery is being improperly sought or is being withheld in bad faith or without substantial justification.”In a filing earlier this week, the BBC said Trump’s lawyer told the news outlet that the president “has no availability whatsoever for a deposition” before the end of the so-called discovery period on Dec. 18. The president’s lawyer said Trump would be available in the second or third week of January but did not provide a date, the BBC said in the filing.
特朗普于12月因BBC对其在2021年1月6日其支持者冲击国会山之前发表的演讲进行误导性剪辑的使用而将其起诉。该剪辑将演讲的不同部分拼接在一起，使其看起来特朗普直接呼吁暴力。BBC在特朗普起诉之前曾道歉，但否认对总统进行了诽谤。
Trump sued in December over the BBC’s use of a misleading edit of a speech he gave to his supporters shortly before they attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The edit, which spliced together different parts of the speech, made it appear Trump made a direct call for violence. The BBC apologized before Trump sued, but denies defaming the president.
特朗普作证的争议仅是其针对该英国媒体机构诉讼中的最新波折。BBC还在寻求强制执行数十份传票，以针对特朗普内圈成员和前内阁成员，以收集有关总统在发表演讲时的意图和精神状态的信息。
The clash over Trump’s deposition is only the latest hiccup in his lawsuit against the British media outlet. The BBC is also seeking to enforce dozens of subpoenas to members of Trump’s inner circle and former cabinet members to gather information about the president intent and state of mind when he delivered the speech.
此案为特朗普诉英国广播公司案，案号25-cv-25894，美国佛罗里达州南部地区地方法院。
The case is Trump v. British Broadcasting Corporation, 25-cv-25894, US District Court, Southern District of Florida.