BBC Asks Judge to Subpoena Trump's Children
BBC Asks Judge to Subpoena Trump's Children
The News
The BBC has asked a federal judge to authorize subpoenas on Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in President Trump's $10 billion defamation lawsuit over the broadcaster's January 6 documentary, according to court filings reported Friday by Politico.
The network says it cannot serve the three the normal way. Its filings say a May attempt to hand papers to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their Miami home was blocked by police, and a separate attempt to serve Trump Jr. at Trump Tower also failed.
The BBC says the Secret Service told it that the agency will not accept subpoenas on behalf of the protectees, and is asking the court to allow "alternative" means of service.
Why the BBC wants them
The broadcaster argues all three have firsthand knowledge of what Trump intended when he spoke at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021 — the question at the center of the case.
Per the BBC's filings, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were present as Trump revised and delivered the speech. Kushner drafted a statement condemning the January 6 violence, a statement Trump never issued.
Timeline
The BBC's Panorama airs the documentary at the center of the dispute, splicing together remarks from Trump's January 6 speech made more than 50 minutes apart.
Trump sues the BBC for $10 billion, alleging the broadcaster unfairly edited the speech.
BBC process servers are turned away by police while trying to deliver papers to Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their Miami home, according to court filings.
Politico reports the BBC's request for court-authorized subpoenas; seven outlets pick up the filings.
Reactions
The BBC's position, as laid out in its filings, is that the Trump family members possess direct evidence of the president's intent and that Secret Service protection cannot be used as a shield against a lawful subpoena.
Trump's side has not, in the reporting on these filings, responded publicly to the subpoena request. The president's underlying claim is that the BBC's edit defamed him; the BBC's defense is that the editing was defensible journalism, not defamation.
What's Next
A federal judge must first decide whether alternative service is permitted. No depositions of Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump or Kushner can go forward until that ruling.
A separate fight over Trump's financial records remains unresolved after he narrowed the lawsuit to drop his economic harm claims — a move the BBC's discovery push runs into next.
More
Defamation claims brought by public figures turn on actual malice: what the publisher knew, and what the plaintiff can prove about the meaning and context of what was published. That is why the BBC is chasing witnesses who were in the room as the speech was written and delivered, rather than only the president himself.
Sources: Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Guardian, Raw Story, AlterNet, Forbes, Newsweek.
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026