The BBC has asked a US court for permission to subpoena members of President Donald Trump’s family for documents and testimony as part of Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster.

Court filings show that BBC lawyers attempted in May to serve subpoenas on Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., daughter Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The subpoenas seek testimony and documents that the BBC argues could shed light on Trump’s intentions when he delivered the speech at the center of the lawsuit.

Dispute centers on edited January 6 speech

Trump filed the lawsuit in Florida last December over a 2024 episode of the BBC’s Panorama program.

The lawsuit accuses the broadcaster of deliberately and deceptively editing together separate portions of a speech Trump delivered on Jan. 6, 2021, before supporters of his gathered at the US Capitol.

The BBC has previously apologized for the editing, acknowledging that the way the speech was presented created a “mistaken impression” that Trump had directly called for violent action.

However, the broadcaster has denied that the editing error amounted to defamation and has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

BBC says Trump’s family has relevant information

In its latest filing, BBC lawyers argued that Trump’s family members have personal knowledge of his intentions when he revised and delivered the speech, making their testimony relevant to the case.

The filing cites evidence previously collected by a US congressional committee, stating that Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present when their father revised and delivered the speech.

The BBC also said Kushner had drafted a proposed statement for Trump that would have condemned the use of violence.

The broadcaster is asking the court to permit the subpoenas to be served by email and certified mail, after attempts to personally deliver them were unsuccessful.

Attempts to serve subpoenas unsuccessful

According to the court filings, a BBC legal representative attempted to serve subpoenas for Ivanka Trump and Kushner at their Florida residence but was denied entry at a police checkpoint. The representative was subsequently told by the Secret Service that the agency could not accept the documents.

A separate attempt to serve Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in New York also failed, according to the filing. The representative was reportedly told by a concierge that the employee normally responsible for receiving legal documents might have been at lunch.

Two days later, another attempt was made, but the representative was told that the building's “legal department” was not available, the filing said.

The BBC press office declined to comment on the matter.

Trump accuses BBC of defamation

Trump's legal team has accused the BBC of intentionally defaming the president and criticized the subpoena request as an attempt to harass Trump, his family and supporters through the legal discovery process.

A spokesman for Trump's lawyers said the broadcaster was attempting to divert attention from what the legal team described as its own liability over the edited documentary.

The BBC, however, maintains that the subpoenas are necessary to establish facts relevant to Trump's claims.

Lawsuit faces further legal challenges

Trump's lawsuit originally named the BBC and its subsidiaries BBC Studios Productions and BBC Studios Distribution as defendants.

Trump has since agreed to drop BBC Studios from the case after the broadcaster argued that the company had no role in creating or producing the Panorama episode.

The legal dispute has also centered on whether the documentary was actually distributed in the United States.

Trump's lawyers recently acknowledged that they had no evidence supporting their earlier claim that the program was available to US viewers through BBC's BritBox subscription service, BBC.com, BBC Select or US broadcasters.

The BBC has argued that the program did not satisfy the legal requirements for defamation and was not made available on its US platforms.

Earlier this month, a judge granted Trump's request to delay the handover of financial records sought by the BBC. The broadcaster had requested financial information related to Trump's claim that the documentary caused damage to his business interests.

Trump's lawyers argued that disclosure of those records would cause him “irreparable harm.”

A February 2027 trial date has been set should the lawsuit proceed to trial.

The dispute remains at the pretrial stage, with both sides continuing to challenge aspects of the opposing party's claims and evidence. (ILKHA)