The BBC has requested assistance from a U.S. court to obtain documents and testimony from members of former President Donald Trump's family in connection with his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster. According to a court filing in federal court in Florida, the BBC's lawyers argued that Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump, Jr. possess "personal knowledge" and likely have records pertinent to elements of Trump's claims.
The broadcaster stated it has been unable to serve subpoenas on the family members due to their Secret Service protection and associated security personnel. Trump initiated the lawsuit in December, seeking $10 billion in damages and accusing the BBC of defamation and deceptive trade practices.
The allegations stem from the BBC's editing of a speech Trump delivered on January 6, 2021, prior to the Capitol attack. The lawsuit contends the BBC "spliced together two entirely separate parts of President Trump’s speech” to “intentionally misrepresent the meaning of what President Trump said,” and that this editing was a “brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
While the BBC has apologized for the misleading edit, it maintains it did not defame Trump. The BBC's latest filing asserts that Trump's family members have knowledge relevant to his argument that it would be "materially false to imply that he incited violence" on January 6, 2021. The filing specifically noted that Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present in the Oval Office as Trump revised his speech, and that Donald Trump, Jr. spoke with his father after the Capitol violence began.
The BBC indicated it asked Trump to accept subpoenas on behalf of his daughter and son-in-law or to direct the Secret Service to permit service, but he refused. The broadcaster is now asking the court to authorize service via email and certified mail. A judge has set a deadline of Friday for Trump's legal team to respond to the BBC's request.
Trump's legal team responded, stating, "the BBC is simply trying to distract away from their own obvious liability." They further asserted that "The BBC intentionally defamed President Donald J. Trump, and now the BBC is seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process."
A trial in the case is provisionally scheduled for February. Separately, a federal judge in Florida recently granted Trump a temporary halt on an order requiring him to disclose financial performance details of his business empire as part of the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Roy Altman agreed to pause the order while he reviews an amended complaint from Trump that aims to narrow his claim of damage to both his business and reputation.