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Magistrate Judge Declines to Recuse Herself in Trump v. BBC Libel Lawsuit

The judge had, before she was appointed a judge in 2024, represented an adverse party in a different lawsuit brought by Trump in 2022.

Eugene Volokh | 6.10.2026 2:03 PM

From today's opinion by Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué A. Lett (S.D. Fla.) in Trump v. BBC:

On December 15, 2025, Plaintiff initiated this action, and the Clerk of Court assigned the matter to Judge Roy K. Altman stating, "U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett is available to handle any or all proceedings in this case." Shortly thereafter, on January 12, 2026, the parties voluntarily elected to have the Undersigned preside over discovery matters in this action. On February 11, 2026, Judge Altman referred this case to the Undersigned for all pretrial non-dispositive and discovery matters….

Plaintiff now seeks—over 160 days after the Undersigned's involvement in this case—the Undersigned's recusal, on the eve of the Undersigned setting a discovery hearing. Specifically, Plaintiff asserts the Undersigned's prior........

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