The BBC is seeking to subpoena Donald Trump's family members, including his son Donald Trump Jr, daughter Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, in connection with a defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. The subpoenas are part of the president's $10 billion (£7.4 billion) lawsuit over an edited episode of Panorama that aired last year. According to court filings, representatives for the BBC's legal team attempted to serve the subpoenas by email and certified mail after being refused entry at a police checkpoint in Florida and told that Trump Tower staff were not available in New York. The BBC is seeking testimony and documents from the Trump family members because they allegedly have "personal knowledge" of the president's intentions in delivering the speech.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
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- Published
The BBC has sought to subpoena members of Donald Trump's family for documents and testimony in the US president's $10bn (£7.4bn) defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster.
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BBC → publish → broadcaster
Court filings show that representatives for the BBC's legal team attempted in May to serve subpoenas to the president's son Donald Trump Jr, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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representatives → show → law
The president is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the 2021 Capitol riots.
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he → sue → riots
The BBC has previously apologised for the edit, but denied it was grounds for defamation.
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it → apologise → defamation
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesman for Trump's legal team said the BBC had "intentionally defamed" the president, and with its subpoena request was now "seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process".
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BBC → say → process
"The BBC is simply trying to distract away from their own obvious liability," the statement said.
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statement → try → liability
The BBC's lawyers argue in the latest filing that Trump's family members had "personal knowledge" of his intentions in delivering the speech, making their testimony and documents relevant to the president's defamation claim.
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testimony → argue → claim
Drawing on evidence previously gathered by a US congressional committee, the filing says Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump were present when their father revised and delivered his speech, adding that Jared Kushner drafted a proposed statement for him that would have condemned the use of violence.
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that → draw → violence
The filing asks the court to allow the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail, saying attempts to serve them by hand were unsuccessful.
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attempts → ask → hand
A subpoena is an order for someone to answer questions under oath or provide evidence.
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someone → answer → evidence
Failure to comply results in a penalty.
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Failure → comply → penalty
According to court filings, in one instance, a representative for the BBC's legal team tried to deliver a subpoena for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at their home in Florida, but was refused entry at a police checkpoint and was later told by the Secret Service that the agency could not accept the subpoenas.
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agency → accord → subpoenas
Similarly, according to the filing, a representative tried to serve a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower in New York but was told by the concierge that the person who normally took such documents may have been at lunch.
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who → accord → lunch
During another attempt two days later, the representative was told the "legal department" was not in that day, according to the filing.
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department → tell → filing
The BBC press office declined to comment.
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office → decline → ?
Last December, Trump sued the BBC and subsidiaries BBC Studios Productions and BBC Studios Distribution over the 2024 Panorama episode.
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Trump → sue → episode
Trump's lawsuit - filed in Florida - accuses the BBC of "intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring" the speech he gave outside the Capitol on 6 January 2021.
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he → file → January
The BBC has apologised for an editing error that gave "the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action".
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Trump → apologise → action
However, the BBC has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the programme did not meet the legal criteria for defamation and was not made available on its US platforms.
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programme → ask → platforms
Last month, Trump's lawyers admitted they had no evidence that the documentary was available in the US on the BBC's BritBox subscription service, as they had originally claimed, or on BBC.com, BBC Select or through US broadcasters.
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they → admit → broadcasters
Trump also recently agreed to drop the BBC's commercial arm BBC Studios from his lawsuit, after the BBC argued the company had "no role in creating or producing the documentary".
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company → agree → documentary
Earlier this month, the judge in the case granted Trump's request for a delay in him handing over financial documents to the broadcaster as part of the lawsuit.
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him → grant → lawsuit
The BBC has asked for some of Trump's financial records in relation to his argument that the documentary damaged the president's business interests.
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documentary → ask → interests
The president's legal team said disclosure of the financial records would cause him "irreparable harm".
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disclosure → say → harm
A trial date in February 2027 has been scheduled, should the case progress.
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case → schedule → February
