US President Donald Trump's lawyers have asked a federal judge in May for a stay of the discovery process in his $US10 billion ($A14 billion) defamation lawsuit against the BBC, pending the outcome of a request to shift such matters to a different judge.
Trump has accused the publicly funded broadcaster of defaming him by splicing together parts of a January 6, 2021, speech to make it appear that he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol.
Trump's legal team said Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett's "prior representation of a client that was directly adverse to President Trump creates an appearance of impropriety", in a request opposed by the BBC.
